W.G.Bowdoin 


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A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 


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MODERN  BUCCANEER 


BY 


ROLF    BOLDREWOOD       If-^'^'^'' 

Author  of  "Robbery  under  Arms,"  etc. 

-ri.-rA^  /§icy^^^  i^^^v^.^ 


MACMILLAN    AND    CO. 

AND    LONDON 
1894 

All  rights  reserved. 


Copyright,  1894, 
By  MACMILLAN  AND   CO. 


NottnooU  ^rc38 : 

J.  S.  Gushing  &  Co.—  Berwick  &  Smith. 

Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS. 


*o* 

CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

My  First  Voyage 1 

CHAPTER   II. 
William  Henry  Hayston 13 

CHAPTER   III. 
In  Samoa 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Samoa  to  Mille 32 

CHAPTER   V. 
The  Brig  Leonora 41 

CHAPTER    VI. 
Captain  Ben  Peese 62 

CHAPTER    VII. 
Cruising  among  the  Carolines 74 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Poisoned  Arrows 87 

V 


Vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   IX. 

PAGE 

Halcyon  Days Ill 

CHAPTER   X. 
Murder  and  Shipwreck 12] 

CHAPTER  XI. 
A  King  and  Queen 159 

CHAPTER   XII. 
"My  Lords  of  the  Admiralty" 189 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
H.  M.  S.  RosARio 200 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
Norfolk  Island  —  Arcadia 225 

CHAPTER   XV. 
Epithalamium 255 

CHAPTER    XVI. 
A  Swim  for  Life 277 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
"Our  Jack's  come  Home  to-day" 303 


A  MODERN  BUCCANEER 


CHAPTER  I 

MY    FIRST   VOYAGE 

Born  near  Sydney  harbour,  nursery  of  the  seamen  of  the 
South,  I  could  swim  almost  as  soon  as  I  could  walk,  and 
sail  a  boat  at  an  age  when  most  children  are  forbidden  to 
go  near  the  water.  AVe  came  of  a  salt-water  stock.  My 
father  had  been  a  sea-captain  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  after  a  youth  spent  in  every  kind  of  craft,  from  a 
cutter  to  a  man-of-war.  No  part  of  the  habitable  globe 
was  unfamiliar  to  him :  from  India  to  the  Pole,  from  Rus- 
sia to  the  Brazils,  from  the  China  Sea  to  the  Bight  of 
Benin  —  every  harbour  was  a  home. 

He  had  nursed  one  crew  frost-bitten  in  Archangel,  when 
the  blankets  had  to  be  cut  up  for  mittens;  had  watched  by 
the  beds  of  another,  decimated  by  yellow  fever  in  Jamaica; 
had  marked  up  the  "death's-head  and  cross-bones"  in  the 
margin  of  the  log-book,  to  denote  the  loss  by  tetanus  of  the 
wounded  by  poisoned  arrows  on  Bougainville  Island ;  and 
had  fought  hand  to  hand  with  the  stubborn  Maories  of 
Taranaki.  Wounds  and  death,  privation  and  pestilence, 
wrecks  and  tempests  were  with  him  household  words,  close 
comrades.  What  were  they  but  symbols,  nature-pictures, 
the  cards  dealt  by  fate  ?  You  lost  the  stake  or  rose  a 
winner.  Men  who  had  played  the  game  of  life  all  round 
knew  this.     He  accepted  fortune,  fair  or  foul,  as  he  did  the 

1  B 


2  A   MODERN  BUCCANEER 

weather  —  a  favour  or  a  force  of  nature  to  be  enjoyed  or 
defied.  But  to  be  commented  upon,  much  less  complained 
of  ?  Hardly.  And  as  fate  had  willed  it,  the  worn  though 
unwearied  sea-king  had  seen  fit  to  heave  anchor,  so  to 
speak,  and  moor  his  vessels  —  for  he  owned  more  than  one 
—  in  this  the  fairest  haven  of  the  southern  main.  Once  be- 
fore in  youth  had  he  seen  and  never  forgotten  the  frowning 
headlands,  beyond  which  lay  so  peerless  a  harbour,  such 
wealth  of  anchorage,  so  mild  a  clime,  so  boundless  an  ex- 
tent of  virgin  soil ;  from  which  he,  "  a  picked  man  of  coun- 
tries, "even  then  prophesied  wealth,  population,  and  empire 
in  the  future. 

Here,  then,  a  generation  later,  he  brought  his  newly- 
wedded  wife.  Here  was  I,  Hilary  Telfer,  destined  to  see 
the  light. 

From  the  mid-city  street  of  Sydney  is  but  a  stone's  throw 
to  the  wharves  and  quays,  magnificent  water-ways  in  which 
those  ocean  palaces  of  the  present  day,  the  liners  of  the 
P.  and  0.  and  the  Orient,  lie  moored,  and  but  a  plank  divides 
the  impatient  passenger  from  the  busy  mart.  Not  that 
such  stately  ships  were  visitors  in  my  school-boy  days. 
Sydney  was  then  a  grass-grown,  quiet  seaport,  boasting 
some  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  with  a  fleet  of  vessels 
small  in  size  and  of  humble  tonnage. 

But,  though  unpretending  of  aspect,  to  the  eager-hearted, 
imaginative  school-boy  they  were  rich  as  Spanish  gal- 
leons. For  were  they  not  laden  with  uncounted  treasure, 
weighed  down  with  wealth  beyond  the  fabled  hoards  of 
the  pirates  of  the  Spanish  Main,  upon  whose  dark  deeds 
and  desperate  adventures  I  had  so  greedily  feasted  ? 

Each  vessel  that  swept  through  the  Heads  at  midnight, 
or  marked  the  white-walled  mansions  and  pine-crowned 
promontories  rise  faintly  out  of  the  pearl-hued  dawn,  was 
for  me  a  volume  filled  with  romance  and  mystery.  Sat 
there  not  on  the  forecastle  of  that  South  Sea  whaler,  silent. 


MY   FIRST   VOYAGE  3 

scornful,  imperturbable,  the  young  Maori  chief,  nursing  in 
his  breast  the  deep  revenge  for  a  hasty  blow,  which  on  the 
return  voyage  to  New  Zealand  and  the  home  of  his  tribe 
was  to  take  the  form  of  a  massacre  of  the  whole  ship's 
company  ? 

Yes,  captain  and  officers,  passengers  and  crew,  every 
man  on  that  ship  paid  the  death  penalty  for  the  mate's 
hard  word  and  blow.  The  insult  to  a  Rangatira  must  be 
wiped  out  in  blood. 

The  trader  of  the  South  Sea  Islands  was  a  marine  marvel 
which  I  was  never  weary  of  studying. 

I  generally  managed  to  make  friends  with  one  or  other 
of  the  crew,  who  permitted  me  to  explore  the  lower  deck 
and  feed  my  fancy  upon  the  treasures  from  that  paradise 
with  which  the  voyager  from  an  enchanted  ocean  had  surely 
freighted  his  vessel.  Strange  bows  and  arrows  —  the  latter 
poison-tipped,  as  I  was  always  assured,  perhaps  as  a  pre- 
cautionary measure  —  piles  of  shaddocks,  tons  of  bananas, 
idols,  skulls,  spears,  clubs,  woven  cloth  of  curious  fabric, 
an  endless  store  of  unfamiliar  foreign  commodities. 

Among  the  crew  were  always  a  few  half-castes  mingled 
with  the  grizzled,  weather-beaten  British  sea-dogs.  Per- 
haps a  boat's  crew  of  the  islanders  themselves,  born  sailors, 
and  as  much  at  home  in  water  as  on  land. 

Seldom  did  I  leave,  however  unwillingly,  the  deck  of 
one  of  these  fairy  barques,  without  registering  a  vow  that 
the  year  in  which  I  left  school  should  see  me  a  gay  sailor- 
boy,  bound  on  my  first  voyage  in  search  of  dangerous  ad- 
ventures and  that  splendidly  untrammelled  career  which 
was  so  surely  to  result  in  fortune  and  distinction. 

Then  the  whaleships !  In  that  old  time,  Sydney  harbour 
was  rarely  without  a  score  or  more  of  them.  In  their  way 
they  were  portents  and  wonders  of  the  deep.  Fortune 
failed  them  at  times.  The  second  year  might  find  them 
far  from  full  of  the  high-priced  whale-oil.     The  capricious 


4  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

cetacean  was  not  to  be  depended  upon  in  migration  from 
one  "  whaling  ground  "  to  another.  Sometimes  a  "  favour- 
ite" ship  —  lucky  in  spite  of  everything  —  would  come 
flaunting  in  after  an  absence  of  merely  eleven  or  twelve 
months  —  such  were  the  Florentia  and  the  Proteus  —  full  to 
the  hatches,  while  three  long  years  would  have  elapsed 
before  her  consort,  sailing  on  the  same  day  and  fitted  up 
much  in  the  same  way,  would  crawl  sadly  into  Snail's  or 
Neutral  Bay,  battered  and  tempest-tossed,  but  three-quarter 
full  even  then,  a  mark  for  the  rough  wit  of  the  port,  to  pay 
oif  an  impoverished  crew  and  confront  unsmiling  or  incred- 
ulous owners. 

Every  kind  of  disaster  would  have  befallen  her.  When 
she  got  fast  to  a  ninety-barrel  whale,  her  boats  would  be 
stoven  in.  When  all  was  well,  no  cheery  shout  of  "  There 
she  spouts!"  would  be  heard  for  days.  Savage  islanders 
would  attack  her  doggedly,  and  hardly  be  beaten  off. 
Every  kind  of  evil  omen  would  be  justified,  until  the  crew 
came  to  believe  that  they  were  sailing  Avith  an  Australian 
Vanderdecken,  and  would  never  see  a  port  again. 


The  grudging  childish  years  had  rolled  by,  and  now  I  was 
seventeen  years  of  age  —  fitted,  as  I  fully  believed,  to  begin 
the  battle  of  life  in  earnest,  and  ardent  for  the  fray.  As 
to  my  personal  qualifications  for  a  life  on  the  ocean  wave, 
and  well  I  knew  no  other  would  have  contented  me,  let  the 
reader  judge.  At  the  age  when  tall  lads  are  often  found 
to  have  out-grown  their  strength,  I  had  attained  the  fullest 
stature  of  manhood;  wide-chested  and  muscular,  constant 
exercise  with  oar  and  sail  had  developed  my  frame  and 
toughened  my  sinews,  until  I  held  myself,  with  some  rea- 
son, to  be  a  match  in  strength  and  activity  for  most  men  I 
was  likely  to  meet. 

In  the  rowing  contests  to  which  Australians  of  the  shore 


MY  FIRST   VOYAGE  5 

have  always  been  devoted,  more  particularly  the  privileged 
citizens  of  Sydney,  I  had  always  taken  a  leading  part. 
More  than  once,  in  a  hard-fought  finish,  had  I  been  lifted 
out  fainting  or  insensible. 

My  curling  fair  hair  and  blue  eyes  bore  token  of  our 
Norse  blood  and  Anglo-Norman  descent.  The  family  held 
a  tradition  that  our  surname  came  from  Taillefer,  the 
warrior  minstrel  who  rode  in  the  forefront  of  Duke  Wil- 
liam's army  at  Hastings.  Strangely,  too,  a  passionate 
love  of  song  had  always  clung  to  the  race.  "  Sir  Hilary 
charged  at  Agincourt,"  as  saith  the  ballad.  Roving  and 
adventure  ran  in  the  blood  for  generations  uncounted. 

For  all  that  trouble  arose  when  I  announced  my  resolve. 
My  schoolmates  had  settled  down  in  the  offices  of  mer- 
chants, bankers,  and  lawyers,  why  could  not  I  do  the  same? 
My  mother's  tears  fell  fast  as  she  tried  in  vain  to  dissuade 
me  from  my  resolution.  My  father  was  neutral.  He  knew 
well  the  intensity  of  the  feeling.  "If  born  in  a  boy,"  he 
said,  "  as  it  was  in  me,  it  is  his  fate  —  nothing  on  earth  can 
turn  him  from  it ;  if  you  stop  him  you  will  make  a  bad  lands- 
man and  spoil  a  good  sailor.  Let  him  go !  he  must  take 
his  chance  like  another  man.  God  is  above  the  wave  as 
over  the  earth.  If  it  be  his  fate,  the  perils  of  the  deep 
will  be  no  more  than  the  breezes  of  the  bay." 

It  was  decided  at  length  that  I  should  be  allowed  to  go 
on  my  way.  To  the  islands  of  the  South  Pacific  my  heart 
pointed  as  truly  as  ever  did  compass  needle  to  the  North. 

I  had  read  every  book  that  had  ever  been  written  about 
them,  from  Captain  Cook's  Voyages  to  TJie  Mutiny  of  the 
Bounty.  In  my  dreams  how  many  times  had  I  seen  the 
purple  mountains,  the  green  glow  of  the  fairy  woodlands, 
had  bathed  in  the  crystal  streams,  and  heard  the  endless 
surf  music  on  the  encircling  reef,  cheered  the  canoes  loaded 
with  fruit  racing  for  their  market  in  the  crimson  flush  of 
the  paradisal  morn,  or  lingered  amidst  the  Aidenns  of  the 


6  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

charmed  main,  where  the  flower-crowned  children  of  nature 
—  maidens  beauteous  as  angels  —  roamed  in  careless  happi- 
ness and  joyous  freedom !     It  was  an  entrancing  picture. 

Why  should  I  stay  in  this  prosaic  land,  where  men  wore 
the  hideous  costume  of  their  forefathers,  and  women,  false 
to  all  canons  of  art,  still  clung  to  their  outworn  garb? 

What  did  I  care  for  the  slieep  and  cattle,  the  tending  of 
which  enriched  my  compatriots? 

A  world  of  romance,  mystery,  and  adventure  lay  open  and 
inviting.    The  die  was  cast.    The  spell  of  the  sea  was  upon 

me. 

********* 

My  father's  accumulations  had  amounted  to  a  reasonable 
capital,  as  things  went  in  those  Arcadian  non-speculative 
days.  He  was  not  altogether  without  a  commercial  fac- 
ulty, which  had  enabled  him  to  make  prudent  investments 
in  city  and  suburban  lands.  These  the  steadily  improving 
markets  were  destined  to  turn  into  value  as  yet  un- 
dreamed of. 

It  was  not  thought  befitting  that  I  should  ship  as  an 
apprentice  or  foremost  hand,  though  I  was  perfectly  will- 
ing, even  eager,  for  a  start  in  any  way.  A  more  suitable 
style  of  equipment  was  arranged.  An  agreement  was  en- 
tered into  with  the  owner  of  a  vessel  bound  for  San  Fran- 
cisco via  Honolulu,  by  which  a  proportion  of  the  cargo  was 
purchased  in  my  name,  and  I  was,  after  some  discussion, 
duly  installed  as  supercargo.  It  may  be  thought  that  I  was 
too  young  for  such  a  responsible  post.  But  I  was  old  for 
my  age.  I  had  a  man's  courage  and  ambition.  I  had 
studied  navigation  to  some  purpose ;  could  "  hand  reef  and 
steer,"  and  in  the  management  of  a  boat,  or  acquaintance 
with  every  rope,  sail,  and  spar  on  board  of  a  vessel,  I  held 
myself,  if  not  an  A.  B.,  fully  qualified  for  that  rank  and 
position. 

Words  would  fail  to  describe  my  joy  and  exultation  when 


MY   FIRST    VOYAGE  7 

I  found  myself  at  length  on  blue  water,  in  a  vessel  which 
I  might  fairly  describe  as  "our  little  craft,"  bound  for  for- 
eign parts  and  strange  cities.  I  speedily  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  crew  —  a  strangely  assembled  lot,  mostly 
shady  as  to  character  and  reckless  as  to  sjDeech,  but  with- 
out exception  true  "sailor  men."  At  that  time  of  day, 
employment  on  the  high  seas  was  neither  so  easy  to  obtain 
nor  so  well  paid  as  at  present.  The  jolly  tars  of  the  period 
were  therefore  less  independent  and  inclined  to  cavil  at 
minor  discomforts.  Once  shipped,  they  worked  with  a 
will,  and  but  little  fault  could  be  found  with  their  courage 
or  seamanship. 

Among  other  joys  and  delights  which  I  promised  myself, 
had  been  a  closer  acquaintance  with  the  life  and  times  of 
a  picturesque  and  romantic  personage,  known  and  feared, 
if  all  tales  were  true,  throughout  the  South  Seas.  This 
was  the  famous,  the  celebrated  Captain  Hayston,  whose 
name  was  indeed  a  spell  to  conjure  with  from  New  Zealand 
to  the  Line  Islands. 

Much  that  could  excite  a  boyish  imagination  had  been 
related  to  me  concerning  him.  One  man  professing  an  inti- 
mate knowledge  had  described  him  as  "a  real  pirate." 
Could  higher  praise  be  awarded?  I  put  together  all  the 
tales  I  had  heard  about  him  —  his  great  stature  and  vast 
strength,  his  reckless  courage,  his  hair-breadth  escapes, 
his  wonderful  brig, —  cousin  german,  no  doubt,  to  the 
"long  low  wicked-looking  craft"  in  the  pages  of  Tom 
Cringle's  Log,  and  other  veracious  historiettes,  "nourishing 
a  youth  sublime,"  in  the  long  bright  summer  days  of  old; 
those  days  when  we  fished  and  bathed,  ate  oysters,  and  read 
alternately  from  early  morn  till  the  lighthouse  on  the 
South  Head  flashed  out!  My  heroes  had  been  difficult  to 
find  hitherto;  they  had  mostly  eluded  my  grasp.  But  this 
one  was  real  and  tangible.  He  would  be  fully  up  to  de- 
scription.    His  splendid  scorn  of  law  and  order,  mercy  or 


8  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

moderation,  his  unquestioned  control  over  mutinous  crews 
and  fierce  islanders,  illumined  by  occasional  homicides  and 
abductions,  all  these  splendours  and  glories  so  stirred  my 
blood,  that  I  felt,  if  I  could  only  once  behold  my  boyhood's 
idol,  I  should  not  have  lived  in  vain.  Among  the  crew, 
fortunately  for  me  as  I  then  thought,  was  a  sailor  who  had 
actually  known  in  the  flesh  the  idol  of  my  daydreams. 

"And  it's  the  great  Captain  Hayston  you'd  like  to  hear 
about,"  said  Dan  Daly,  as  we  sat  together  in  the  foc'sle 
head  of  the  old  barque  Clarkstone,  before  we  made  Hono- 
lulu. Dan  had  been  a  South  Sea  beach-comber  and  whaler; 
moreover,  had  been  marooned,  according  to  his  own  account, 
escaping  only  by  a  miracle;  a  trader's  head-man  —  once, 
indeed,  more  than  half-killed  by  a  rush  of  natives  on  the 
station.  With  every  kind  of  dangerous  experience  short 
of  death  and  burial  he  was  familiar.  On  which  account  I 
regarded  him  with  a  fine  boyish  admiration.  What  a  night 
was  it,  superbly  beautiful,  when  I  hung  upon  his  words, 
as  we  sat  together  gazing  over  the  moonlit  water !  We  had 
changed  our  course  owing  to  some  dispute  about  food  be- 
tween captain  and  crew,  and  were  now  heading  for  the 
island  of  Rurutu,  where  fresh  provisions  were  attainable. 
As  I  listened  spellbound  and  entranced,  the  barque's  bows 
slowly  rose  and  fell,  the  wavering  moonlight  streamed  down 
upon  the  deck,  the  sails,  the  black  masses  of  cordage,  while 
ghostly  shadows  moved  rhythmically,  in  answering  measure 
to  every  motion  of  the  vessel. 

"You  must  know,"  said  Dan,  in  grave  commencement, 
"it's  nigh  upon  five  years  ago,  when  I  woke  up  one  morn- 
ing in  the  '  Calaboose  '  as  they  call  the  '  lock-up '  in  Papi- 
ete,  with  a  broken  head.  It's  the  port  of  the  island  of 
Tahiti.  I  was  one  of  the  hands  of  the  American  brig 
Cherokee,  and  we'd  put  in  there  on  our  way  to  San  Francisco 
from  Sydney.  The  skipper  had  given  us  liberty,  so  we 
went  ashore  and   began   drinking   and  having  some  fun. 


MY    FIRST    VOYAGE  9 

There  was  some  wahines  in  it,  in  coorse  —  that's  whats 
they  call  the  women  in  thim  parts.  Somehow  or  other 
I  got  a  knock  on  the  head,  and  remimbered  nothing  more 
until  I  woke  up  in  the  'Calaboose,'  where  I  was  charged 
with  batin'  a  native  till  he  was  nigh  dead.  To  make  a 
long  story  short,  I  got  six  months  'hard,'  and  the  ship 
sailed  away  without  me. 

"When  I'd  served  my  time,  I  walks  into  the  American 
Consulate  and  asks  for  a  passage  to  California. 

'"Clear  out,'  says  the  Consul,  'you  red-headed  varmint, 
I  have  nothing  to  say  to  you,  after  beating  an  inoffensive 
native  in  the  manner  you  did. ' 

'"By  the  powers,'  says  I  to  myself,  'you're  a  big  black- 
guard, Dan  Daly,  when  you've  had  a  taste  of  liquor,  but  if 
I  remimber  batin'  any  man  black,  white,  or  whitey-brown, 
may  I  be  keel-hauled.  Howsomdever,  that  says  nothing, 
the  next  thing's  a  new  ship.' 

"  So  I  steps  down  to  the  wharf  and  aboord  a  smart-looking 
schooner  that  belonged  to  Carl  Brander,  a  big  merchant  in 
Tahiti,  as  rich  as  the  Emperor  of  China,  they  used  to  say. 
The  mate  was  aboord.     '  Do  you  want  any  hands? '  says  I. 

"'We  do,'  says  he.  'You've  a  taking  colour  of  hair  for 
this  trade,  my  lad.' 

"'How's  that?' 

"  'AVhy,  the  girls  down  at  Rimitara  and  Eurutu  will  just 
make  love  to  you  in  a  body.  Red  hair's  the  making  of  a 
man  in  thim  parts.' 

"  Upon  this  I  signed  articles  for  six  months  in  the 
schooner,  and  next  day  we  sailed  for  a  place  called  Bora- 
bora  in  the  north-west.  We  didn't  stay  there  long,  but 
got  under  weigh  for  Eurutu  next  day.  We  weren't  hardly 
clear  of  Bora-bora  when  we  sights  a  brigantine  away  to 
windward  and  bearing  down  on  us  before  the  wind.  As 
soon  as  she  got  close  enough,  she  signalled  that  she  wanted 
to  send  a  boat  aboard,  so  we  hove  to  and  waited. 


10  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

"  Our  skipper  had  a  look  at  the  man  Avho  was  steering 
the  boat,  whin  he  turns  as  pale  as  a  sheet,  and  says  he 
to  the  mate,  '  It's  that  devil  Hayston!  and  that's  the  brig- 
antine  he  and  Captain  Ben  Peese  ran  away  with  from 
Panama. ' 

"However,  up  alongside  came  the  boat,  and  as  fine  a 
looking  man  as  ever  I  set  eyes  on  steps  aboord  amongst  us. 

"'How  do  ye  do.  Captain?'  says  he.  'Where  from  and 
whither  bound? ' 

"  The  skipper  was  in  a  blue  funk,  I  could  see,  for  this 
Bully  Hayston  had  a  terrible  bad  name,  so  he  answers  him 
quite  polite  and  civil. 

"'Can  you  spare  me  half  a  coil  of  two-inch  Manilla?' 
asks  the  stranger,  'and  I'll  pay  you  your  own  price? ' 

"The  skipper  got  him  the  rope,  the  strange  captain  pays 
for  it,  and  they  goes  below  for  a  glass  of  grog.  In  half  an 
hour,  up  on  deck  they  comes  again,  our  skipper  half -seas 
over  and  laughing  fit  to  kill  himself. 

"'By  George! '  says  he,  'you're  the  drollest  card  I  ever 
came  across.  D — n  me !  if  I  wouldn't  like  to  take  a  trip 
with  you  myself! '  and  with  that  he  struggles  to  the  sky- 
light and  falls  in  a  heap  across  it. 

'"Who's  the  mate  of  this  schooner? '  sings  out  Hayston, 
in  such  a  changed  voice  that  it  made  me  jump. 

'"I  am! '  said  the  mate,  who  was  standing  in  the  waist. 

"'Then  where's  that  Mangareva  girl  of  yours?  Come, 
look  lively !  I  know  all  about  her  from  that  fellow  there, ' 
pointing  to  the  skipper. 

"The  mate  had  a  young  slip  of  a  girl  on  board.  She 
belonged  to  an  island  called  Mangareva,  and  was  as  pretty 
a  creature,  with  her  big  soft  eyes  and  long  curling  hair,  as 
ever  I'd  seen  in  my  life.  The  mate  just  trated  her  the 
same  as  he  would  the  finest  lady,  and  was  going  to  marry 
her  at  the  next  island  where  there  was  a  missionary.  When 
he  heard  who  the   strange  captain  was,  he'd  planted  her 


MY    FIRST    VOYAGE  11 

down  in  the  hold  and  covered  her  up  with  mats.  He  Avas 
a  hue  manly  young  chap,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  Hayston 
meant  to  take  '  Taloo, '  that  was  her  name,  he  pulls  out  a 
pistol  and  says,  'Down  in  the  hold,  Captain  Hayston!  and 
as  long  as  God  gives  me  breath  you'll  never  lay  a  linger  on 
her.  I'll  put  a  bullet  through  her  head  rather  than  see  her 
fall  into  the  hands  of  a  man  like  you.'  The  strange  cap- 
tain just  gives  a  laugh  and  pulls  his  long  moustache.  Then 
he  walks  up  to  the  mate  and  slaps  him  on  the  shoulder. 

'"You've  got  the  right  grit  in  you,'  says  he.  'I'd  like 
to  liave  a  man  like  you  on  board  my  ship; '  and  the  next 
second  he  gripped  the  pistol  out  of  the  mate's  hand  and 
sent  it  spinning  along  the  deck.  The  mate  fought  like  a 
tiger,  but  he  was  a  child  in  the  other  man's  grasp.  All 
the  time  Hayston  kept  up  that  devilish  laugh  of  his.  Then, 
as  he  saw  me  and  Tom  Lynch  coming  to  help  the  mate,  he 
says  something  in  a  foreign  lingo,  and  the  boat's  crew 
jumps  on  board  amongst  us,  every  one  of  them  with  a 
pistol.     But  for  all  that  they  seems  a  decent  lot  of  chaps. 

"Hayston  still  held  the  mate  by  his  wrists,  laughing  in 
his  face  as  if  he  was  having  the  finest  fun  in  the  world, 
when  up  comes  Taloo  out  of  the  hold  by  way  of  the  foc'sle 
bulk-head,  with  her  long  hair  hanging  over  her  shoulders, 
and  the  tears  streaming  down  her  cheeks. 

"  She  flings  herself  down  at  the  Captain's  feet,  and  clasps 
her  arms  round  his  knees. 

'"No,  no!  no  kill  Ted!'  she  kept  on  crying,  just  about 
all  the  English  she  knew. 

"  'You  pretty  little  thing,'  says  he,  'I  wouldn't  hurt  your 
Ted  for  the  world. '  Then  he  lets  go  the  mate  and  takes 
her  hand  and  shakes  it. 

"'What's  your  name,  my  man?  ' 

"'Ted  Baunington! '  says  the  mate. 

"'Well,  Ted  Bannington,  look  here;  if  you'd  showed 
any  funk  I'd  have  taken  the  girl  in  spite  of  you  and  your 


12  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

whole  ship's  company.  If  a  man  don't  think  a  woman 
good  enough  to  fight  for,  he  deserves  to  lose  her  if  a  better 
man  comes  along.' 

"  Taloo  put  out  one  little  hand,  the  other  hand  and  arm 
was  round  the  mate's  neck,  shaking  like  a  leaf  too. 

"'I'm  so  sorry  if  I've  hurt  your  wrists,'  says  he  to  the 
mate,  most  polite.  Then  he  gave  some  orders  to  the  boat's 
crew,  who  pulled  away  to  the  brigantine.  After  they  liad 
gone  he  walked  aft  with  the  mate,  the  two  chatting  like  the 
best  friends  in  the  world,  and  I'll  be  hanged  if  that  same 
mate  wasn't  laughing  fit  to  split  at  some  of  the  yarns  the 
other  chap  was  spinning,  sitting  on  the  skylight,  with  the 
Captain  lying  at  their  feet  as  drunk  as  Davy's  sow. 

''Presently  the  boat  comes  alongside  agin,  and  a  chap 
walks  aft  and  gives  the  strange  captain  a  parcel. 

'"You'll  please  accept  this  as  a  friendly  gift  from  Bully 
Hayston,'  says  he  to  the  mate;  and  then  he  takes  a  ten- 
dollar  piece  out  of  his  pocket  and  gives  it  to  Taloo.  'Drill 
a  hole  in  it,  and  hang  it  round  the  neck  of  your  first  child 
for  luck. ' 

"He  shakes  hands  with  her  and  the  mate,  jumps  into 
the  boat,  and  steers  for  the  brigantine.  In  another  ten 
minutes  she  squared  away  and  stood  to  the  south-east. 

'"Come  here,  Dan,'  says  the  mate  to  me;  'see  what  he's 
given  me! '  'Twas  a  beautiful  chronometer  bran  new,  in  a 
splendid  case.  The  mate  said  he'd  never  seen  one  like  it 
before. 

"  Well,  that  was  the  first  time  I  ever  seen  Bully  Hayston, 
though  I  did  a  few  times  afterwards,  and  the  brigantine 
too. 

"They  do  say  he's  a  thundering  scoundrel,  but  a 
pleasanter-spoken  gentleman  I  never  met  in  my  life." 


CHAPTER   II 

WILLIAM    HENRY   HAYSTON 

These  were  the  first  particulars  I  ever  heard  of  the  man 
who  had  afterwards  so  great  an  influence  upon  my  destiny 
that  no  incident  of  my  sojourn  with  him  will  ever  be  for- 
gotten. A  man  with  whom  I  went  into  the  jaws  of  death 
and  returned  unhurt.  A  man  who,  no  matter  what  his 
faults  may  have  been,  possessed  qualities  which,  had  they 
been  devoted  to  higher  aims  in  life,  might  have  rendered 
him  the  hero  of  a  nation. 

Our  Captain's  altercation  with  the  crew  nearly  blossomed 
into  a  mutiny.  This  was  compromised,  however,  one  of 
the  conditions  of  peace  being  that  we  should  touch  at 
Rurutu,  one  of  the  five  islands  forming  the  Tubuai  group. 
This  we  accordingly  did,  and,  steering  for  San  Francisco, 
experienced  no  further  adventures  until  we  sighted  the 
Golden  Gate.     When  our  cargo  was  sold  I  left  the  ship. 

My  occupation  being  from  this  time  gone,  I  used  to  stroll 
down  to  the  wharf  from  my  lodgings  in  Harvard  Street  to 
look  at  the  foreign  vessels.  Wandering  aimlessly,  I  one 
day  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  "hard-shell  down-easter," 
with  the  truly  American  name  of  Slocum,  master  of  a 
venerable-looking  crate  called  the  Constitution.  He  him- 
self was  a  dried-up  specimen  of  the  old  style  of  Yankee 
captain,  with  a  face  that  resembled  in  colour  a  brown 
painted  oilskin,  and  hands  like  an  albatross's  feet.  He 
had  been  running  for  a  number  of  years  to  Tahiti,  taking 
out  timber  and  returning  with  island  produce. 

13 


14  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

Not  being  a  proud  man,  he  permitted  me  to  stand  drinks 
for  him  in  a  well-known  liquor  saloon  in  Third  Street,  where 
we  had  long  yarns  over  his  trading  adventures  in  the 
Pacific. 

One  Sunday  morning,  I  remember  it  as  if  yesterday,  we 
were  sitting  in  a  private  room  ofl:  the  bar.  Slocum  was 
advising  me  to  come  with  him  on  his  next  trip  and  share 
the  luxuries  of  the  Constitution^ s  table,  for  which  he  asked 
the  modest  sum  of  a  hundred  dollars  to  Tahiti  and  back, 
when  we  heard  some  one  enter  and  address  the  bar-keeper. 
"Great  Scott!"  came  the  reply,  "it's  Captain  Hayston! 
How  air  you.  Captain,  and  whar  d'ye  come  from?" 

"I've  come  to  try  and  find  Ben  Peese.  We're  going  to 
form  a  new  station  at  Arrecifu.  He  left  me  at  Yap  in  the 
Carolines  to  come  here  and  buy  a  schooner  with  a  light 
draught;  but  he  never  turned  up;  I'm  afraid  that  after  he 
left  Yap  he  met  with  some  accident." 

The  moment  Slocum  heard  the  stranger's  voice  his  face 
underwent  a  marvellous  change.  All  his  assurance  seemed 
to  have  left  him.  He  whispered  to  me,  "That's  Bully 
Hayston!  I  guess  I'll  lie  low  till  he  clears  out.  I  don't 
want  to  be  seen  with  him,  as  it'll  sorter  damage  my  char- 
acter.    Besides,  he's  such  a  vi'lent  critter." 

The  next  moment  we  heard  the  new-comer  say  to  the 
barman,  — 

"Say,  Pred,  I've  been  down  to  that  old  schooner  the 
Constitution,  but  couldn't  find  Slocum  aboard.  They  told 
me  he  often  came  here  to  get  a  cheap  drink.  I  want  him 
to  take  a  letter  to  Tahiti.     Do  you  know  where  he  is?  " 

Slocum  saw  it  was  of  no  use  attempting  to  "  lie  low, "  so 
with  a  nervous  hand  he  opened  the  door. 


I've  knocked  about  the  world  a  good  deal  since  I  sat  in 
the  little  back  parlour  in  Third  Street,  Prisco,  but  neither 


WILLIAM   HENRY   HAYSTON  15 

before  nor  since  I  left  Strong's  Island  have  I  seen  such 
a  splendid  specimen  of  humanity  as  the  man  who  then 
entered. 

Much  that  I  am  about  to  relate  I  learned  during  my  later 
experience. 

William  Henry  Hayston  was  born  in  one  of  the  Western 
States  of  America,  and  received  his  education  at  Norfolk, 
Virginia.  As  his  first  appointment  he  obtained  a  cadet- 
ship  in  the  United  States  Revenue  Service,  subsequently 
retiring  to  become  captain  of  one  of  the  large  lake  steamers. 

In  '55  he  joined  the  navy,  serving  with  great  gallantry 
under  Admiral  Farragut.  The  reported  reason  of  his  leav- 
ing the  service  was  a  disagreement  with  Captain  Carroll, 
afterwards  commander  of  the  rebel  cruiser  Shenandoali. 
So  bitter  was  their  feud,  that  years  afterwards,  when  that 
vessel  was  in  the  South  Pacific,  her  commander  made  no 
secret  of  his  ardent  wish  to  meet  Hayston  and  settle  ac- 
counts with  him,  even  to  the  death. 

Hayston  was  a  giant  in  stature :  six  feet  four  in  height, 
with  a  chest  that  measured,  from  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
forty-nine  inches;  and  there  was  nothing  clumsy  about 
him,  as  his  many  antagonists  could  testify.  His  strength 
was  enormous,  and  he  was  proud  of  it.  But,  apart  from 
his  magnificent  physique,  Hayston  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkably  handsome  men  about  this  time  that  I  have  ever 
seen.  His  hair  fell  in  clusters  across  his  forehead,  above 
laughing  eyes  of  the  brightest  blue;  his  nose  was  a  bold 
aquiline ;  a  well-cut,  full-lipped  mouth  that  could  set  like 
fate  was  covered  by  a  huge  moustache.  A  Vandyke  beard 
completed  the  tout  ensemble  of  a  visage  which,  once  seen, 
was  rarely  forgotten  by  friend  or  foe.  Taking  him  alto- 
gether, what  with  face,  figure,  and  manner,  he  had  a  per- 
sonal magnetism  only  too  fatally  attractive,  as  many  a 
man  —  ay,  and  woman  too  —  knew  to  their  cost.  He  was 
my  beau  ideal  of  a  naval  officer  —  bold  and  masterful,  yet 


IG  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

soft  and  pleasant-voiced  withal  when  he  chose  to  conciliate. 
His  sole  disfigurement  —  not  wholly  so,  perhaps,  in  the  eye 
of  his  admirers  —  was  a  sabre  cut  which  extended  from  the 
right  temple  to  his  ear. 

For  his  character,  the  one  controlling  influence  in  his 
life  was  an  ungovernable  temper.  It  was  utterly  beyond 
his  mastery.  Let  any  one  oft'end  him,  and  though  he  might 
have  been  smiling  the  instant  before,  the  blue  eyes  would 
suddenly  turn  almost  black,  his  face  become  a  deep  purple. 
Then  it  was  time  for  friend  or  foe  to  beware.  For  I  never 
saw  the  man  that  could  stand  up  to  him.  Strangely 
enough,  I  have  sometimes  seen  him  go  laughing  through  a 
fight  until  he  had  finished  his  man.  At  other  times  his 
cyclone  of  a  mood  would  discharge  itself  without  warning 
or  restraint.  It  was  probably  this  appalling  temper  that 
gained  him  a  cliaracter  for  being  bloodthirsty;  for,  once 
roused,  nothing  could  stop  him.  Yet  I  do  him  the  justice 
to  say  that  I  never  once  witnessed  an  act  of  deliberate 
cruelty  at  his  hands.  In  the  islands  he  was  surrounded  by 
a  strange  collection  of  the  greatest  scoundrels  unhung. 
There,  of  necessity,  his  rule  was  one  of  "blood  and  iron." 

And  now  for  his  pleasing  traits.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  companions  possible.  He  possessed  a 
splendid  baritone  voice  and  affected  the  songs  of  Schumann 
and  the  German  composers.  He  was  an  accomplished 
musician,  playing  on  the  pianoforte,  violin,  and,  in  default 
of  a  better  instrument,  even  on  the  accordion.  He  spoke 
German,  French,  and  Spanish,  as  well  as  the  island  lan- 
guages, fluently.  Generous  to  a  fault,  in  spite  of  repeated 
lessons,  he  would  insist  on  trusting  again  and  again  those 
in  whom  he  believed.  But  once  convinced  that  he  had 
been  falsely  dealt  with,  the  culprit  would  have  fared  nearly 
as  well  in  the  jaws  of  a  tiger.  He  was  utterly  without  fear, 
under  any  and  all  circumstances,  even  the  most  desperate, 
and  was  naturally  a  hater  of  every  phase  of  meanness  or 


WILLIAM   HENItV    HAYSTON  17 

cowardice.  But  one  more  trait,  and  my  sketcli  is  complete. 
He  had  a  fatal  weakness  where  the  fairer  sex  was  concerned. 
To  one  of  them  he  owed  his  first  war  with  society.  To  the 
consequences  of  that  false  step  might  have  been  traced  the 
reckless  career  which  dishonoured  his  manhood  and  led  to 
the  final  catastrophe. 

"  Come,  gentlemen !  "  he  said  on  entering  —  in  so  pleasant 
and  kindly  a  tone,  that  I  felt  drawn  towards  him  at  once, 
"let  us  sit  down  and  have  a  drink  toirether." 

We  went  back  to  the  room,  Slocum,  I  could  see,  feeling 
intensely  uncomfortable,  fidgeting  and  twisting.  As  we 
sat  down  I  took  a  good  look  at  the  man  of  whom  I  had 
heard  so  much.  Heard  of  his  daring  deeds  in  the  China 
seas;  of  a  wild  career  in  the  Pacific  Islands;  of  his  bold 
defiance  of  law  and  order;  besides  strange  tales  of  myste- 
rious cruises  in  the  north-west  among  the  Caroline  and 
Pellew  Islands. 

"  And  how  air  yer,  Captain?  "  said  Slocum  with  forced 
hilarity. 

"  I'm  devilish  glad  to  see  you, "  replied  Hay ston ;  "  what 
about  that  barque  of  mine  you  stripped  down  at  the  Mar- 
shalls,  you  porpoise-hided  skunk?  " 

"  True  as  gospel.  Captain,  I  didn't  know  she  was  yours. 
There  was  a  trader  at  Arnu,  you  know  the  man,  an  Italian 
critter,  but  they  call  him  George  Brown,  and  he  says  to 
me,  'Captain  Slocum,'  says  he,  'there's  a  big  lump  of  a 
timber-ship  cast  away  on  one  of  them  reefs  near  Alluk,  and 
if  you  can  get  up  to  her  you'll  make  a  powerful  haul.  She's 
new  coppered,  and  hasn't  broke  up  yet.'  So  I  gave  him 
fifty  dollars,  and  promised  him  four  hundred  and  fifty  more 
if  his  news  was  reliable ;  if  that  ain't  the  solid  facts  of  the 
case  I  hope  I  may  be  paralysed." 

"  Oh !  so  it  was  George  who  put  you  on  to  take  my  prop- 
erty, was  it?  and  he  my  trader  too;  well,  Slocum,  I  can't 
blame  you.     But  now  I'll  tell  you  my  'facts  '  .•  that  barque 


18  A  MODERN  BUCCANEER 

was  wrecked;  the  skipper  and  crew  were  picked  up  by  Ben 
Peese  and  taken  to  China.  He  bought  the  barque  for  me 
for  four  hundred  dollars,  and  I  beat  up  to  Arnu,  and  asked 
George  if  he  would  get  me  fifty  Arnu  natives  to  go  with 
me  to  the  wreck  and  either  try  and  float  it  or  strip  her. 
The  d — d  Marcaroni-eating  sweep  promised  to  get  me  the 
men  in  a  week  or  two,  so  I  squared  away  for  Madura, 
where  I  had  two  traders.  Bad  weather  came  on,  and  Avhen 
I  got  back  to  Arnu,  the  felloAv  told  me  that  a  big  canoe  had 
come  down  from  the  Eadacks  and  reported  that  the  barque 
had  gone  to  pieces.  The  infernal  scoundrel!  Had  I 
known  that  he  had  put  you  on  to  her  I'd  have  taken  it  out 
of  his  hide.     Who  is  this  young  gentleman?" 

"  A  friend  of  mine.  Captain,  thinking  of  takin'  a  voyage 
with  me  for  recruitin'  of  his  health,"  and  the  lantern-jawed 
Slocum  introduced  us. 

Drawing  his  seat  up  to  me,  Hayston  placed  his  hand  on 
my  shoulder,  and  said  with  a  laugh,  looking  intensely  at 
Slocum,  who  was  nervously  twisting  his  fingers,  "Oh!  a 
recruitin'  of  his  health,  is  he?  or  rather  recruitin'  of  your 
pocket?  I'm  glad  I  dropped  in  on  you  and  made  his 
acquaintance.  I  could  tell  him  a  few  droll  stories  about 
the  pious  Slocum." 

Slocum  said  nothing,  but  laughed  in  a  sickly  way. 

Leaning  forward  with  a  smiling  face,  he  said,  "  What  did 
you  clear  out  of  my  barque,  you  good  Slocum?" 

"Nigh  on  a  thousand  dollars." 

"You  know  you  lie,  Slocum!  you  must  have  done  better 
than  that." 

"I  kin  show  my  receipts  if  you  come  aboard,"  he  an- 
swered in  shaky  tones. 

"  Well,  I'll  take  your  word,  you  sanctimonious  old  shark, 
and  five  hundred  dollars  for  my  share." 

"Why,  sartin.  Captain!  that's  fair  and  square,"  said  the 
other,  as  his  sallow  face  lighted  u}),  "I'll  give  you  the 
dollars  to-morrow  morning." 


WILLIAM   HENRY    HAYSTON  19 

"Right  you  are.  Come  to  the  Lick  house  at  ten  o'clock. 
Say,  my  pious  friend,  what  would  our  good  Father  Damien 
think  if  I  told  him  that  pretty  story  about  the  six  Solomon 
Island  people  you  picked  up  at  sea,  and  sold  to  a  sugar 
planter?" 

The  trader's  visage  turned  green,  as  with  a  deprecating 
gesture  towards  me  he  seemed  to  implore  Hayston's 
silence. 

"Ha!  ha!  don't  get  scared.  Business  matters,  my  lad," 
he  said,  turning  to  me  his  merry  blue  eyes,  and  patting  me 
on  the  back.     "Where  are  you  staying  here?" 

I  told  him.  Then  as  we  were  rising  to  go,  speaking  to 
me,  and  looking  Slocura  in  the  face,  he  said,  "  Don't  have 
any  truck  with  Master  Slocum,  he'll  skin  you  of  every  dol- 
lar you've  got,  and  like  as  not  turn  you  adrift  at  some  place 
you  can't  get  away  from.  Isn't  that  so,  my  saintly 
friend?  " 

Slocum  flinched  like  a  whipped  hound,  but  said  nothing. 
Then,  shaking  hands  with  me,  and  saying  if  ever  I  came  to 
the  Pacific  and  dropped  across  him  or  Captain  Ben  Peese  I 
should  meet  a  hearty  welcome,  he  strode  out,  with  the 
shambling  figure  of  the  down-easter  under  his  lee. 

That  was  the  last  I  saw  of  the  two  captains  for  many  a 
long  day,  for  a  few  days  later  the  Constitution  cleared  out 
for  Tahiti,  and  I  couldn't  learn  anything  more  about  Hay- 
ston.  Whether  he  was  then  in  command  of  a  vessel,  or 
had  merely  come  up  as  passenger  in  some  other  ship,  I 
could  not  ascertain.  All  the  bar-keeper  knew  about  him 
was  that  he  was  a  gentleman  with  plenty  of  money  and  a 
h — 1  of  a  temper,  if  anybody  bothered  him  with  questions. 

Little  I  thought  at  the  time  that  we  were  fated  to  meet 
again,  or  that  where  we  once  more  forgathered  would  be 
under  the  tropic  sun  of  Polynesia. 


CHAPTER   III 

IN    SAMOA 

From  what  I  have  said  about  Hayston,  it  will  readily  be 
understood  that  every  tale  relating  to  him  was  strangely 
exciting  to  my  boyish  mind.  For  me  he  was  the  incarna- 
tion of  all  that  was  utterly  reckless,  possibly  wicked,  and 
of  course,  as  such,  possessed  a  fascination  that  a  better 
man  would  have  failed  to  inspire. 

My  hero,  however,  had  disappeared,  and  with  him  all 
zest  seemed  to  have  gone  out  of  life  at  Frisco.  So  after 
mooning  about  for  a  few  weeks  I  resolved  on  returning  to 
Sydney. 

My  friends  on  the  Pacific  slope  did  their  best  to  dissuade 
me,  trying  to  instil  the  idea  into  my  head  that  I  was  cut 
out  for  a  merchant  prince  by  disposition  and  intellect.  But 
I  heeded  not  the  voice  of  the  charmer.  The  only  walk  m 
life  for  which  I  felt  myself  thoroughly  fitted  was  that  of 
an  armed  cruiser  through  the  South  Sea  Islands.  All 
other  vocations  were  tame  and  colourless  in  comparison.  I 
could  fancy  myself  parading  the  deck  of  my  vessel,  pistol 
at  belt,  dagger  in  sheath,  a  band  of  cut-throats  trembling 
at  my  glance,  and  a  bevy  of  dark-skinned  princesses  ready 
to  die  for  me  at  a  moment's  notice,  or  to  keep  the  flies 
from  bothering,  whichever  I  preferred. 

I  may  state  "right  here,"  as  the  Yankees  have  it,  that  I 
did  not  become  a  "  free  trader,"  though  at  one  time  I  had  a 
close  shave  of  being  run  iip  to  the  yardarm  of  a  British  man- 
of-war  in  that  identical  capacity.    But  this  came  later  on. 

20 


IN   SAMOA  21 

I  returned,  therefore,  to  my  native  Sydney  in  due  course 
of  time,  and  as  a  wholesome  corrective  after  my  somewhat 
erratic  experiences,  was  placed  by  my  father  in  a  merchant's 
office.  But  the  colourless  monotony  became  absolutely 
killing.  It  was  awfvil  to  be  stuck  there,  adding  up  columns 
of  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence,  and  writing  business  let- 
ters, while  there  was  stabbing,  shooting,  and  all  sorts  of 
wild  excitement  going  on  "away  down  in  the  islands." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
certain  South  Sea  Islanders  belonging  to  whalers  or  trad- 
ing vessels.  With  one  of  them,  named  George,  a  native 
of  Raratonga,  I  became  intimate.  He  impressed  me  with 
his  intelligence,  and  amused  me  with  his  descriptions  of 
island  life.  He  had  just  returned  from  a  whaling  voyage 
in  the  barque  Adventurer  belonging  to  the  well-known  firm 
of  Robert  Towns  &  Company. 

So  when  George,  having  been  paid  off  in  Sydney  with  a 
handsome  cheque,  confided  to  me  that  he  intended  going 
back  to  the  Navigators'  Islands,  where  he  had  previously 
spent  some  years,  in  order  to  open  a  small  trading  station, 
my  unrest  returned.  He  had  a  hundred  pounds  which  he 
wished  to  invest  in  trade-goods,  so  I  took  him  round  the 
Sydney  firms  and  saw  him  fairly  dealt  with.  A  week  after- 
wards he  sailed  to  Samoa  via  Tonga,  in  the  Taoji  Vtcna,  a 
schooner  belonging  to  King  George  of  that  ilk. 

Before  he  left  he  told  me  that  two  of  his  countrymen 
were  trading  for  Captain  Hayston  —  one  at  Marhiki,  and 
one  at  Fakaofo,  in  the  Union  group.  Both  had  made 
money,  and  he  believed  that  Captain  Hayston  had  fixed 
upon  Apia,  the  chief  port  of  Samoa,  as  his  head-quarters. 

Need  I  Say  that  this  information  interested  me  greatly, 
and  I  asked  George  no  end  of  questions.     But  the  schooner 
,  was  just  leaving  the  wharf  in  tow  of  a  tug,  and  my  dark- 
skinned  friend  having  shipped  as  an  A.  B.,  was  no  longer 
of  the  "leisure  classes."     So,  grasping  my  hand,  and  tell- 


22  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

ing  me  where  to  hear  of  him  if  I  ever  came  to  Samoa,  we 
parted. 

Before  going  further  let  me  explain  the  nature  of  a  Poly- 
nesian trader's  mission. 

On  the  greater  number  of  the  islands  white  men  are  resi- 
dent, who  act  as  agents  for  a  firm  of  merchants,  for  masters 
of  vessels,  or  on  their  own  account.  In  some  cases  a  piece 
of  ground  is  rented  from  the  king  or  chief  whereon  to  make 
the  trading  station.  In  others  the  rulers  are  paid  a  protec- 
tion fee.  Then,  if  a  trader  is  murdered,  his  principal  can 
claim  blood  for  blood.  This,  however,  is  rarely  resorted 
to.  A  trader  once  settled  on  his  station  proceeds  to  obtain 
cocoa-nuts  from  the  natives,  for  which  he  pays  in  dollars 
or  "trade."  He  further  employs  them  to  scrape  the  fruit 
into  troughs  exposed  to  the  sun,  by  which  process  the  cocoa- 
nut  oil  is  extracted.  Of  late  years  "  copra  "  has  taken  the 
place  of  the  oil.  This  material  —  the  dried  kernel  of  the 
nut  —  has  become  far  more  valuable;  for  when  crushed  by 
powerful  machinery  the  refuse  is  pressed  into  oil-cake,  and 
proved  to  be  excellent  food  for  cattle. 

To  be  a  good  trader  requires  pluck,  tact,  and  business 
capacity.  Many  traders  meet  their  death  for  want  of  one 
or  other  of  these  attributes.  All  through  the  South  Seas, 
more  especially  in  the  Line  Islands,  are  to  be  found  the 
most  reckless  desperadoes  living.  Their  uncontrolled  pas- 
sions lead  them  to  commit  acts  which  the  natives  naturally 
resent;  the  usual  result  being  that  if  the  trader  fails  to  kill 
or  terrorise  them,  they  do  society  a  kindness  by  ridding  it 
of  him.  Then  comes  the  not  infrequent  shelling  of  a  native 
village  by  an  avenging  man-of-war.  And  thus  civilisation 
keeps  ever  moving  onwards. 

The  traders  were  making  fortunes  in  the  South  Seas  at 
that  time,  according  to  George.  I  returned  to  business 
with  a  mind  full  of  projects.  The  glamour  of  the  sea, 
the  magic  attraction  of  blue  water,  was  again  upon  me ;  I 


1 


IN   SAMOA  23 

was  powerless  to  resist.  My  father  smiled.  My  mother 
and  sisters  wept  afresh.  I  bowed  myself,  nevertheless,  to 
my  fate.  In  a  fortnight  I  bade  my  relations  farewell  — 
all  unworthy  as  I  felt  myself  of  their  affection.  Inwardly 
exultant,  though  decently  uncheerful,  I  took  passage  a 
fortnight  later  in  a  barque  trading  to  the  Friendly  and 
Navigators'  Islands.  She  was  called  the  Rotumah,  belong- 
ing to  Messrs.  M 'Donald,  Smith,  «&;  Company,  of  Hunter 
Street,  Sydney.  Her  captain  was  a  Canadian  named  Rob- 
ertson, of  great  experience  in  the  island  trade. 

There  were  two  other  passengers  —  a  lady  going  to  join 
her  brother  who  was  in  business  at  Nukulofa,  in  Tonga, 
and  a  fine  old  French  priest  whom  we  were  taking  to 
Samoa.  The  latter  was  very  kind  to  me,  and  during  our 
passage  through  the  Friendly  Islands  I  was  frequently  the 
guest  of  his  brother  missionaries  at  their  various  stations 
in  the  groups. 

How  shall  I  describe  my  feelings,  landed  at  last  among 
the  charmed  isles  of  the  South,  where  I  had  come  to  stay, 
I  told  myself?  Generally  speaking,  how  often  is  there  a 
savour  of  disappointment,  of  anticipation  unrealised,  when 
the  wish  is  achieved!  But  the  reality  here  was  beyond  the 
most  brilliant  mental  pictures  ever  painted.  All  things 
were  fresh  and  novel;  the  coral  reefs  skirting  the  island 
shore  upon  which  the  surf  broke  ceaselessly  with  sullen 
roar;  cocoa-palms  bowed  with  their  feathery  crests  above 
a  vegetation  richly  verdurous.  The  browns  and  yellows 
of  the  native  villages,  so  rich  in  tone,  so  foreign  of  aspect, 
excited  my  unaccustomed  vision.  Graceful  figures,  warm 
and  dusky  of  colouring,  passed  to  and  fro.  The  groves  of 
broad  leaf ed  bananas ;  the  group  of  white  mission  houses; 
the  balmy,  sensuous  air;  the  transparent  water,  in  which 
the  very  fish  were  strange  in  form  and  hue,  —  all  things 
soever,  land  and  water,  sea  and  sky,  seemed  to  cry  aloud 
to  my  eager,  wondering  soul,  "  Hither,  oh  fortunate  youth, 


24  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

hast  thou  come  to  a  world  new,  perfect,  and  complete  in 
itself — ^"to  a  land  of  Nature's  fondness  and  profuse  luxuri- 
ance, to  that  Aidenn,  long  lost,  mysteriously  concealed  for 
ages  from  all  mankind.'' 

At  the  Marist  Mission  at  Tongatabu  I  was  received  most 
kindly  by  the  venerable  Father  Chevron,  the  head  of  the 
Church  in  Tonga.  His  had  been  a  life  truly  remarkable. 
For  fifty  years  he  had  laboured  unceasingly  among  the  sav- 
age races  of  Polynesia,  had  had  hairbreadth  escapes,  and 
passed  through  deadliest  perils.  Like  many  of  his  col- 
leagues he  was  unknown  to  fame,  dying  a  few  years  later, 
beloved  and  respected  by  all,  yet  comparatively  "unhon- 
oured  and  unsung."  During  the  whole  course  of  my  expe- 
riences in  the  Pacific  I  have  never  heard  the  roughest  trader 
speak  an  ill  word  of  the  Marist  Brothers.  Their  lives  of 
ceaseless  toil  and  honourable  poverty  tell  their  own  tale. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  may  well  feel  proud  of  these 
her  most  devoted  servants. 

One  morning  Captain  Robertson  joined  me;  the  Father 
seemed  pleased  to  see  him.  On  my  mentioning  how  kindly 
they  had  treated  me,  a  stranger  and  a  Protestant,  he 
replied, — 

"Ay,  ay,  my  lad;  they  are  different  from  most  of  the 
missionaries  in  Tonga,  anyway,  as  many  a  shipwrecked 
sailor  has  found.  If  a  ship  were  cast  away,  and  the  crew 
hadn't  a  biscuit  apiece  to  keep  them  from  starving,  they 
wouldn't  get  so  much  as  a  piece  of  yam  from  some  of  the 
reverend  gentlemen." 

I  asked  Father  Chevron  if  he  knew  Captain  Peese  and 
Captain  Hayston. 

"Yes!  I  am  acquainted  with  both;  of  the  latter  I  can 
only  say  that  when  I  met  him  here  I  forgot  all  the  bad  re- 
ports I  had  heard  about  him.  He  cannot  be  the  man  he  is 
reputed  to  be." 

I  was  sorry  to  part  with  the  good  Father  when  the  time 


IN   SAMOA  26 

came  to  leave.  But  a  native  messenger  arrived  next  day  with 
a  note  from  the  captain,  who  intended  sailing  at  daylight. 

So  I  said  farewell  and  went  on  board. 

We  called  at  Hapai  and  Vavau,  the  two  other  ports  of 
the  Friendly  Islands,  sighting  the  peak  of  Upolu,  in  the 
Navigators',  three  days  after  leaving  the  latter  place. 

We  rounded  the  south-east  point  of  Upolu  next  day, 
running  in  so  close  to  the  shore  that  we  could  see  the  natives 
walking  on  the  beaches.  Saw  a  whaleboat,  manned  by 
islanders  and  steered  by  a  white  man,  shoot  through  an 
opening  in  the  reef  opposite  Flupata.  For  him  we  tarried 
not,  in  spite  of  a  signal,  running  in  as  we  were  with  the 
wind  dead  aft,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  anchored 
in  Apia  harbour,  opposite  the  American  consulate. 

The  scenery  around  Apia  harbour  is  beauteous  beyond 
description.  Spacious  bays  unfold  themselves  as  you  ap- 
proach, each  revealing  the  silvery  white-sanded  beach 
fringed  with  cocoa-palms ;  stretching  afar  towards  the  hills 
lies  undulating  forest  land  chequered  with  the  white  houses 
of  the  planters.  The  harbour  itself  consists  of  a  horse- 
shoe bay,  extending  from  Matautu  to  Mullinu  Point. 
Fronting  the  passage  a  mountain  rears  its  summit  cloud- 
enwrapped  and  half-hidden,  narrow  paths  wind  through  deep 
gorges,  amid  which  you  catch  here  and  there  the  sheen  of  a 
mountain-torrent.  On  the  south  the  land  heads  in  a  grace- 
ful sweep  to  leeward,  until  lost  in  the  all-enveloping  sea- 
mists  of  the  tropics,  while  the  straggling  town,  white- 
walled,  reed-roofed,  peeps  through  a  dark-green  grove  of 
the  bananas  and  cocoa-palms  which  fringe  the  beach. 

At  this  precise  period  I  paid  but  little  attention  to  the 
beauties  of  Apia,  for  in  a  canoe  paddled  by  a  Samoan  boy 
sat  my  friend  George.  I  hailed  him;  what  a  look  of  joy 
and  surprise  rippled  over  his  dark  countenance  as  he  recog- 
nised me !  With  a  few  strokes  of  the  paddle  the  canoe  shot 
alongside  and  he  sprang  on  deck. 


26  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

"I  knew  you  would  come,"  he  said;  "I  boarded  every 
ship  that  put  in  here  since  I  landed.     Going  to  live  here?  " 

"I  think  so,  George!  I  have  some  money  and  trade  with 
me;  if  I  get  a  chance  I'll  start  somewhere  in  Samoa." 

He  was  delighted,  and  said  I  would  make  plenty  of 
money  by  and  by.  He  wouldn't  hear  of  my  going  to  an 
hotel.  I  must  come  with  him.  He  had  a  Samoan  wife  at 
Lellepa,  a  village  about  a  mile  from  Apia  on  the  Matautu 
side. 

It  was  dark  when  we  landed.  As  we  walked  towards  his 
home  George  pointed  out  a  house  standing  back  from  the 
beach,  which,  he  said,  belonged  to  Captain  Hayston. 

That  personage  had  just  left  Samoa,  and  was  now  cruis- 
ing in  the  Line  Islands,  where  he  had  a  number  of  traders. 
He  was  expected  back  in  two  months.  A  short  time  before 
I  arrived,  the  American  gunboat  Narraganset  had  sud- 
denly put  in  an  appearance  in  Apia  where  Hayston's  brig 
was  lying.  Her  anchor  had  barely  sounded  bottom,  before 
an  armed  boat's  crew  left  her  side,  boarded,  took  Hayston 
prisoner,  and  kept  possession  of  the  Leonora. 

There  was  wild  excitement  that  day  in  Apia.  Many  of 
the  residents  had  a  strong  liking  for  Hayston  and  ex- 
pressed sympathy  for  him.  Others,  particularly  the  Ger- 
man element,  were  jubilant,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  he 
would  be  taken  to  America  in  irons. 

The  captain  of  the  Narraganset  then  notified  his  seizure 
to  the  foreign  consuls,  and  solicited  evidence  regarding 
alleged  acts  of  piracy  and  kidnapping.  During  this  time 
Hayston  was,  so  the  Americans  stated,  in  close  confinement 
on  board  the  man-of-war,  but  it  was  the  general  opinion 
that  he  was  treated  more  as  a  guest  than  a  prisoner.  The 
trial  came  on  at  the  stated  time,  but  resulted  in  his  ac- 
quittal. Either  the  witnesses  were  unreliable  or  afraid  of 
vengeance,  for  nothing  of  a  criminal  nature  could  be  elicited 
from  them.     Hayston  was  then  conducted  back  to  his  brig, 


IN    SAMOA  27 

and  in  half-an-hour  he  had  "  dressed  ship  "  in  honour  of  the 
event.  The  next  act  was  to  give  his  crew  liberty  —  when 
those  bright  particular  stars  sallied  forth  on  shore,  all  more 
or  less  drunk,  in  company  Avith  the  blue  jackets  from  the 
man-of-war,  and  immediately  set  about  "  painting  the  town 
red,"  and  looking  for  the  witnesses  who  had  testified 
against  their  commander.  On  the  next  niglit  Hayston 
gave  a  ball  to  the  officers,  and,  doubtless,  from  that  time 
felt  his  position  secure,  as  far  as  danger  from  warships  of 
his  own  country  was  concerned. 

All  this  was  told  to  me  by  George  as  we  walked  along  the 
track  to  his  house,  where  we  arrived  just  in  time  for  a  good 
supper.  The  place  was  better  built  than  the  ordinary  native 
houses.  The  floor  was  covered  with  handsome  clean  mats 
on  which,  on  the  far  end  of  the  room,  his  wife  and  two 
daughters  by  a  former  marriage  were  sitting.  They  seemed 
so  delighted  at  the  idea  of  having  me  to  live  wdth  them, 
that  in  a  few  minutes  I  felt  quite  at  home.  The  evening 
meal  was  ready  on  the  mats ;  the  smell  of  roast  pork  and 
bread-fruit  whetted  my  appetite  amazingly;  nor  was  it 
appeased  until  George  and  his  wife  had  helped  me  to  food 
enough  to  satisfy  a  boarding-school. 

After  supper  the  family  gathered  round  the  lamp  which 
was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  There  they  went 
through  the  evening  prayers ;  a  hymn  was  sung,  after  which 
a  chapter  was  read  from  a  Samoan  Testament,  followed  by 
a  prayer  from  the  master  of  the  house. 

I  found  that  the  custom  of  morning  and  evening  prayers 
was  never  neglected  in  any  Samoan  household ;  for,  whether 
the  Samoans  are  really  religious  or  no,  they  keep  up  a 
better  semblance  of  it  than  many  who  have  whiter  skins. 

That  night  George,  who  by  the  way  was  called  Tuluia  by 
his  wife  and  daughters,  made  plans  for  our  future.  As  we 
sat  talking  the  others  retired  to  a  far  corner,  where  they 
sat  watching  us,  their  big  dark  eyes  dilated  with  interest. 


28  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

We  agreed  to  buy  a  boat  between  us  and  make  trading  trips 
to  the  windward  port  as  far  as  Aleipata.  Then  after  smok- 
ing a  number  of  "  salui "  or  native  cigarettes,  we  turned  in. 

All  next  day  we  were  incommoded  by  crowds  of  inquisi- 
tive visitors,  who  came  to  have  a  look  at  me  and  learn  why 
I  had  come  to  Samoa  —  George  having  told  them  merely 
that  I  was  his  "no,"  or  friend,  treated  most  of  them  with 
scant  courtesy,  explaining  that  the  natives  about  Apia  are 
thorough  loafers  and  beggars,  and  warning  me  not  to  sell 
any  of  them  my  "trade"  unless  I  received  cash  in  return. 
In  the  afternoon  I  landed  my  effects,  but  could  scarcely  get 
into  the  house  for  the  crowds. 

George's  wife,  it  appeared,  had  been  so  indiscreet  as  to 
tell  some  of  her  relations  that  I  had  rifles  for  sale;  as  a 
consequence  there  were  fully  a  hundred  men  eager  to  see 
them.  Some  had  money,  others  wanted  credit,  others 
desired  loose  powder,  and  kept  pointing  to  a  shed  close  by, 
saying,  "Paula  pana  fanua"  (powder  for  the  cannon).  I 
discovered  that  under  the  shed  lay  a  big  gun  which  Patiole 
and  Asi,  two  chiefs,  had  bought  from  Captain  Hayston  for 
six  hundred  dollars,  but  had  run  out  of  ammunition. 

I  had  no  powder  to  sell,  but  George  found  me  a  cash 
buyer  for  one  of  my  Winchesters  at  seventy -five  dollars. 
I  could  have  sold  the  other  three  for  sixty  dollars  each,  but 
he  advised  me  to  keep  them  in  order  to  get  a  better  price 
up  the  coast.  It  was  just  on  the  eve  of  the  second  native 
war,  so  the  Samoans  were  buying  arms  in  large  quantities. 
From  some  Calif ornians'  trading  vessels  they  had  brought 
about  three  hundred  breech-loaders,  and  Hayston  had  sold 
them  the  cannon  aforesaid,  which  he  had  brought  from 
China  in  the  Leonora. 

The  chief,  Malietoa,  had  an  idea  of  carrying  the  war 
into  the  enemy's  country.  His  plan  was  to  charter  a  vessel, 
and  take  five  hundred  men  to  Tuvali,  the  largest  island  in 
the  group.     Hayston  had  met  a  deputation  of  chiefs,  and 


IN    SAMOA  29 

told  them  that  for  a  thousand  dollars  he  would  land  that 
number  of  Malietoa's  warriors  in  any  part  of  the  group. 
Moreover,  if  they  gave  him  ten  dollars  for  every  shot  fired, 
he  would  land  them  under  cover  of  four  guns.  But  they 
were  not  to  bring  their  arms,  and  were  to  arrange  to  have 
taumualuas,  or  native  boats,  to  meet  the  brig  oft"  the 
coast  and  put  them  on  board.  This,  he  explained,  was 
necessary  to  prevent  the  vessel  being  seized  if  they  met  a 
man-of-war,  and  so  getting  him  into  serious  trouble. 

The  chiefs  took  this  proposition  in  eagerly  at  first,  but, 
on  thinking  it  over,  suspicions  arose  as  to  their  reaching 
their  destination  safely;  and,  finally,  after  the  usual 
amount  of  fawning  and  flattering,  in  which  every  Samoan 
is  an  adept,  they  told  Hayston  that  they  could  not  raise 
sufficient  money,  and  so  the  matter  ended. 

The  following  months  of  my  sojourn  in  Samoa  passed 
quickly.  George  and  I  bought  a  cutter  in  which  we  made 
several  trips  to  the  windward  villages,  whence  we  ran  down 
to  the  little  island  of  Manono,  situated  between  Upolu  and 
Savaii.  There  we  did  a  good  business,  selling  our  trade 
for  cash  to  the  people  of  Manono,  and  buying  a  cargo  of 
yams  to  take  to  Apia,  to  sell  to  the  natives  there,  who  were 
short  of  food  owing  to  the  outbreak  of  hostilities. 

On  our  way  up  we  took  advantage  of  a  westerly  wind, 
and  made  the  passage  inside  the  reef,  calling  at  the  villages 
of  Multifanna  and  Saleimoa  —  visiting  even  places  with 
only  a  few  houses  nestling  amongst  the  cocoa-palms. 

We  left  Saleimoa  at  dusk,  and  although  we  were  deeply 
laden,  we  made  good  way.  Whilst  at  the  village  I  heard 
that  a  large  Norwegian  ship  laden  with  guano  had  put  into 
Apia,  having  sprung  a  leak  and  run  short  of  provisions; 
also  that  there  was  not  a  yam  to  be  had  in  the  place.  Our 
informant  was  a  deserter  from  a  man-of-war,  living  at 
Saleimoa.  He  had  been  tattooed,  and  was  a  thorough 
Samoan  in  appearance,  but  was  anxious  to  get  a  passage  to 


30  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

New  Britain,  being  afraid  to  remain  longer  in  his  present 
quarters.  He  was  known  as  "Flash  Jack,"  and  was  held 
to  be  a  desperate  character.  After  a  few  drinks  he  became 
communicative,  telling  me  certain  things  which  he  had 
better  have  kept  to  himself.  He  informed  me  that  he 
intended  to  ship  with  Hayston,  whose  brig  was  expected 
daily  with  a  hundred  recruits  for  Goddeffroy  and  Sons' 
plantations.  He  advised  me  to  keep  my  yams  until  the 
Leonora's  cargo  of  "  boys  "  arrived,  as  the  Germans  would 
pay  me  my  own  price  for  them,  being  short  of  food  for 
their  plantation  labourers.  In  another  few  minutes  Jack 
was  drunk,  and  wanted  to  fight  us,  when  two  of  his  wives 
came  on  board,  and  after  beating  him  with  pieces  of  wood, 
carried  him  on  shore  and  laid  him  in  his  bunk. 

I  determined,  however,  to  take  his  advice  about  the 
yams,  and  was  cogitating  as  to  the  price  I  should  ask  for 
them,  when  George,  who  was  steering,  called  my  attention 
to  two  "  taumualuas  "  full  of  men,  paddling  quickly  in  from 
sea  through  an  opening  in  the  reef. 

Not  apprehending  danger  we  kept  on.  Our  boat  was 
well  known  along  the  coast  by  the  Tua  Massaga  or  Malietoa 
faction,  and  we  merely  supposed  that  these  boats  were 
coming  down  from  Apia  to  the  leeward  ports.  It  Avas  a 
clear  night;  George  called  out  the  usual  Samoan  greeting, 
used  when  canoes  meet  at  night.  The  next  moment  we  saw 
them  stop  paddling,  when,  without  a  word  of  warning,  we 
received  a  volley,  the  bullets  striking  the  cutter  in  at  least 
twenty  places.  How  we  escaped  is  a  mystery.  George 
got  a  cut  on  the  shoulder  from  a  piece  of  our  saucepan, 
which  was  lying  against  the  mast.  It  flew  to  pieces  when 
struck,  and  I  thought  a  shell  had  exploded. 

Flinging  ourselves  flat  on  the  deck,  George  called  out  to 
the  canoes,  which  were  now  paddling  quickly  after  us,  and 
told  them  who  we  were,  at  the  same  time  lowering  our  jib 
and  foresail.     The  taumualuas  dashed  up,  one  on  each  side. 


IN   SAMOA  31 

Luckily  some  of  the  warriors  instantly  recognised  us.  They 
expressed  great  sorrow,  and  explained  that  they  had  mis- 
taken us  for  a  boat  bringing  up  a  war  party  from  Savaii. 

Every  man  was  armed  with  a  rifle,  mostly  modelled  on 
the  German  needle-gun,  and  as  they  were  all  in  full  fighting 
costume  they  had  a  striking  and  picturesque  effect.  After 
mutual  expressions  of  regard  and  a  general  consumption  of 
cigarettes,  we  gave  them  a  bottle  of  grog  to  keep  out  the 
cold  night  air,  sold  them  some  cartridges  from  my  own 
private  stock,  and  with  many  a  vociferous  "To  Fa,"  we 
sailed  away,  and  left  them  in  the  passage  waiting  for  the 
expected  invaders. 


CHAPTER   IV 

SAMOA    TO    MILLE 

Just  as  we  parted  from  our  warlike  friends  who  had  so 
nearly  put  an  end  to  our  cruises,  one  of  the  chiefs  sang  out 
that  a  large  brig,  painted  white,  was  out  at  sea  beating  up 
to  Apia.  Turning  his  information  over  in  my  mind,  the 
conviction  grew  upon  me  that  she  must  be  Hayston's  vessel, 
the  Leonora.  It  proved  to  be  correct,  for  as  we  ran  past 
Mulinu  Point  we  saw  her  entering  the  passage  leading  to 
the  harbour.  She  was  about  a  mile  distant  from  us,  but  I 
could  see  that  she  was  a  beautifully-built  vessel,  and  could 
well  believe  the  tales  of  her  extraordinary  speed.  The 
Norwegian  guano-man,  an  immense  ship,  the  Otto  and 
Antoine,  was  lying  in  the  roadstead,  and  as  the  Leonora 
came  to  her  moorings,  we  ran  up  between  the  two  vessels 
and  dropped  anchor. 

During  the  next  few  minutes  I  received  no  less  than 
three  different  offers  for  our  sixteen  tons  of  yams.  These 
I  declined,  and  after  waiting  till  I  perceived  that  most  of 
the  shore  visitors  had  left  the  brig,  I  took  our  dingey  and 
pulled  aboard. 

Captain  Hayston  was  below,  and  the  Chinese  steward 
conducted  me  into  his  presence.  He  looked  at  me  steadily 
for  a  moment,  as  if  trying  to  recall  where  he  had  seen  me 
before,  and  then  after  my  few  words  of  explanation,  gave 
me  a  hearty  welcome  to  the  South  Seas. 

Having  told  him  how  I  came  to  visit  Samoa,  I  offered 
him  my  yams,  which  he    gladly  purchased,  paying   me  a 

.32 


SAMOA   TO   MILLB  33 

good  price  for  them  in  United  States  gold  coin.  This  tran- 
saction being  concluded,  he  asked  me  to  meet  him  next 
day,  when  we  could  have  a  good  long  chat,  at  the  same 
time  desiring  me  to  keep  secret  the  fact  of  our  previous 
meeting.  What  his  reasons  were  I  never  knew;  but  as  he 
seemed  anxious  on  this  matter,  I  told  him  that  I  had  sel- 
dom mentioned  the  circumstance,  and  to  no  one  in  Samoa, 
with  the  exception  of  my  mate  Tuluia.  I  had  indeed  made 
few  other  acquaintances. 

Although  I  should  much  have  liked  to  have  had  a  look 
round  the  brig,  I  could  see  the  Captain  wished  to  get  on 
shore,  so  after  shaking  hands  with  him  I  returned  to  our 
cutter,  where,  in  a  few  minutes,  the  brig's  longboat  came 
alongside,  and  we  set  to  work  getting  out  the  yams.  Hay- 
ston  paid  me  without  demanding  to  have  them  weighed, 
and  George's  dark  face  was  wreathed  in  smiles  when  I 
showed  him  the  money.  He  explained  that  two  tons  were 
very  bad,  and  had  they  been  seen  by  a  purchaser  would 
have  been  rejected. 

Although  only  a  Kanaka,  George  possessed  true  com- 
mercial instincts,  and  I  felt  sure  he  would  grow  rich. 

The  native  war  was  now  at  its  height,  and  the  lines  of 
the  hostile  party  were  so  close  to  Matautu,  the  eastern  part 
of  Apia,  that  bullets"  were  whistling  over  our  heads  all  day 
long.  The  yam  season  being  over,  and  the  copra  trade  at 
a  standstill,  we  gave  up  the  cutter  and  settled  for  a  while 
on  shore.  It  was  during  this  period  that  I  was  a  constant 
visitor  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Lewis,  the  American  Consul, 
where  I  generally  found  Hayston  in  company  with  Captain 
Edward  Hamilton,  the  pilot,  and  another  American,  a 
whisky-loving,  kava-drinking  old  salt,  brimful  of  fun  and 
good  humour.  He  had  been  twenty  years  in  Samoa,  and 
was  one  of  the  best  linguists  I  ever  met  with;  was  known 
to  every  native  in  the  group,  and  had  been  several  trips 
with  Hayston  to  the  north-west  islands.     He  followed  no 


34  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

known   occupation,   but    devoted   his  time   to   idling   and 
attending  native'  dances. 

Many  a  merry  evening  we  spent  together  while  the 
Leonora  was  recruiting,  and  I  began  to  think  Hayston  was 
the  most  entertaining  man  I  had  ever  met.  He  made  no 
secret  of  some  of  his  exploits,  and  in  particular  referred  to 
the  way  in  which  he  had  beaten  a  certain  German  firm  in 
the  way  of  business,  even  breaking  up  their  stations  in  the 
Line  Islands.  At  that  time  these  merchants  had  acquired 
a  bad  name  for  the  underhand  manner  in  which  they  had 
treated  English  and  American  traders ;  and  for  any  man  to 
gain  an  advantage  over  them  was  looked  upon  as  a  meri- 
torious action. 

By  many  people  who  cherished  animosity  against  Hay- 
ston I  had  been  led  at  first  to  look  upon  him  as  a  thorough- 
going pirate  and  a  bloodthirsty  ruffian.  Yet  here  I  found 
him,  if  not  respected,  at  least  deemed  a  fit  associate  for 
respectable  men.  Moreover,  his  word  was  considered  as 
good  security  in  business  as  another  man's  bond.  I  well 
remember  the  days  when  he  used  to  visit  me  at  Leliepa, 
and  we  amused  ourselves  with  pistol  practice.  He  was  a 
wonderful  shot,  and  his  skill  excited  the  loud  applause  of 
the  native  chiefs.  One  fat  old  fellow,  known  as  Puluma- 
kau  (the  bullock),  begged  him  to  spend  a  day  now  and  then 
in  the  lines  with  the  native  forces,  and  exercise  his  skill 
upon  the  enemy. 

One  day  he  took  me  on  board  with  him  in  order  to  show 
me  over  the  brig.  He  intended  to  leave  in  a  few  days,  and 
I  remarked,  as  we  were  pulled  on  board,  that  I  should 
dearly  like  to  have  a  trip  with  him  some  day. 

He  was  silent  for  a  minute,  and  then  replied,  "No!  I 
shall  be  glad  enough  of  your  company  as  my  guest,  as  I 
have  taken  a  fancy  to  you;  but  it  will  be  better  for  you  to 
keep  clear  of  me." 

When  we  got  on  board  I  was  struck  with  the  beautiful 


SAMOA   TO   MILLE  36 

order  in  which  the  vessel  was  kept,  aloft  and  below;  there 
was  not  a  rope  yarn  out  of  place.  Descending  to  the  cabin 
I  found  it  splendidly  furnished  for  a  vessel  of  her  size. 

The  Leonora  was  250  tons  register,  and  had  been  built 
for  the  opium  trade.  During  her  career  in  Chinese  seas 
she  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  the  fastest  vessel  on 
the  coast.  She  then  carried  eight  guns.  She  had  been 
several  times  attacked  by  pirates,  who  were  invariably 
beaten  off  with  loss.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  she  carried 
but  one  gun,  which  stood  on  the  main  deck,  Hayston  hav- 
ing sold  two  others  of  the  same  calibre  to  the  natives.  But 
for  this,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  she  had  a  most  peaceful 
appearance. 

On  the  main  deck,  just  abaft  the  foc'sle,  was  a  deck- 
house divided  into  compartments,  forming  the  cook's  galley 
and  boats'  crews'  quarters,  together  with  those  belonging 
to  the  first  and  second  mates.  On  the  top  of  the  house  a 
whale-boat  was  carried,  leaving  room  for  two  sentries  to 
keep  guard,  a  precaution  which  I  afterwards  found  was,  on 
certain  occasions,  highly  necessary  for  the  vessel's  safety. 
The  foc'sle  was  large,  for  she  carried  between  twenty -five 
and  thirty  men.  The  thing  that  struck  me  most,  however, 
was  the  bulkhead,  which  was  loop-holed  for  rifles,  so  that 
if  any  disturbance  took  place  in  the  forehold,  which  was 
sometimes  filled  with  Kanaka  labourers,  the  rebels  could  be 
shot  down  with  ease  and  accuracy. 

The  most  noticeable  things  about  the  gear  were  the  top- 
sails she  carried,  Cunningham's  patent,  in  which  there 
were  no  reef  points.  The  topsail  yards  revolved,  so  that 
you  could  reef  as  much  as  you  liked,  and  all  the  work  could 
be  done  from  the  main  deck  by  the  down  haul.  Many  cap- 
tains dislike  this  patent,  but  it  behaved  splendidly  on  the 
Leonora  for  all  that. 

The  crew,  or  most  of  them,  were  ashore,  and  only  the 
second  mate,  the  Chinese  carpenter,  the  stcAvard,  and  ship's 


36  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

boys  were  on  board.  The  mate  was  a  muscular  Fijian  half- 
caste  named  Bill  Hicks,  known  as  a  fighting  man  all  over 
Polynesia.  A  native  girl,  called  Liva,  was  sitting  on  the 
main  hatch  making  a  bowl  of  kava. 

"Halloa!  Liva,"  said  the  Captain,  as  we  passed  along  the 
deck,  "I  thought  you  were  married  to  one  of  the  Dutch 
clerks  at  Goddeffroy's?" 

"Avoe,  lava,  alii."  "Quite  true.  Captain,  but  I've  come 
to  stay  with  Bill  for  a  week. " 

The  Captain  and  second  mate  laughed,  and  next  day  I 
learned  that  Bill  had  gone  to  the  clerk's  house  at  Matafele, 
the  German  quarter  of  the  town,  and  though  there  were 
other  Germans  present,  told  Liva  to  pack  up  her  clothes  and 
come  with  him.  She,  nothing  loth,  did  as  he  told  her,  and 
the  Germans,  seeing  mischief  in  the  half-caste's  eye, 
offered  no  opposition. 

The  departure  of  the  Leonora  took  place  a  few  days  after- 
wards, and  I  accepted  the  position  of  supercargo  in  a  ketch 
which  the  junior  partner  of  one  of  the  principal  firms  in 
Samoa  wished  to  send  to  the  Marshalls  to  be  sold.  I 
expressed  my  doubts  of  her  sea-worthiness  for  so  long  a 
voyage.  However,  he  said  there  was  no  danger,  as  it  would 
be  a  fine  weather  passage  all  the  way  through,  adding  that 
the  king  of  Arnu,  or  Arrowsmith's  Island,  had  commis- 
sioned Captain  Hayston  to  buy  a  vessel  for  him  in  Samoa. 

I  thought  his  proposition  over,  and  next  day  stated  my 
willingness  to  undertake  the  venture,  the  owners  promising 
to  put  the  vessel  in  repair  as  soon  as  possible.  She  was 
hauled  up  to  the  beach  in  front  of  the  British  consulate, 
where  for  the  next  few  weeks  carpenters  were  at  work, 
patching  up  and  covering  her  rotten  bottom  with  a  thick 
coating  of  chunam.  Notwithstanding  these  precautions  no 
one  except  old  Tapoleni,  the  Dutch  skipper,  could  be  in- 
duced to  take  charge  of  her. 

During  the  time  she  was  on  the  beach  I  made  a  trip  to 


SAMOA   TO   MILLE  37 

the  beautiful  village  of  Tiavea,  doing  a  week's  trading  and 
pigeon  shooting.  On  my  return  I  found  the  town  in  a  high 
state  of  excitement  owing  to  a  succession  of  daring  rob- 
beries of  the  various  stores.  Strong  suspicions  were  enter- 
tained with  respect  to  a  herculean  American  negro,  known 
as  Black  Tom,  who  kept  an  extremely  disorderly  hotel 
where  seamen  were  known  to  be  enticed  and  robbed. 

The  old  vessel  was  launched  at  last,  and,  to  the  mani- 
fest surprise  of  everybody,  refrained  from  springing  a  leak. 
Things  might  easily  have  been  worse;  for  what  with  the 
great  age  of  her  timber  and  the  thickness  of  her  hull  the 
carpenters  were  barely  able  to  make  the  copper  hold. 

Kext  day  we  took  in  our  stores.  I  was  surprised  at  the 
casks  of  beef,  tins  of  biscuits,  and  quantities  of  other  pro- 
visions put  on  board,  and  thought  the  owners  extremely 
liberal.  This  favourable  state  of  feeling  lasted  till  we 
were  well  at  sea,  when  I  discovered  all  the  beef  to  be  bad, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  stores  unfit  for  any  well-brought- 
up  pig.  When  everything  was  aboard  the  owners  gave  me 
the  following  document :  — 

Apia,  ^rd  December,  187  . 
Dear  Sir,  —  You  will  proceed  to  Mille,  Mulgrave  Island,  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  the  ketch  E.  A.  Wilson.  You  will  find  Captain 
Hayston  there  waiting  for  you  ;  so  you  will  please  consult  with  him, 
as  he  is  acquainted  with  the  parties  who  wish  to  purchase  her.  Try 
to  obtain  oil  and  copra  to  the  amount  of  £500  for  the  vessel.  Ship 
whatever  produce  you  may  get  on  board  the  Leonora,  and  get  Captain 
Hayston  to  sign  bills  of  lading.  Do  not  sell  the  chronometer  unless 
you  get  a  good  price  for  it.  Sell  the  few  things  you  take  to  the  best 
advantage  ;  none  of  the  Samoans  are  to  remain,  but  must  come  back 
to  Apia.  Have  the  ketch  painted  on  your  arrival  at  Millu.  Wishing 
you  a  prosperous  and  speedy  voyage.  —  We  are,  etc., 

Bascom  &  Co. 

I  quote  this  letter  in  extenso,  for  later  on  it  plays  an  im- 
portant part  in  my  narrative.  Having  carefully  read  it 
Mr.  Bascom  shook  hands  with  me,  wished  me  a  pleasant 


38  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

voyage,  and  departed.  I  went  aboard,  the  vessel  being 
already  hove  short,  and,  as  I  thought,  only  waiting  my 
arrival  to  sail. 

Things  looked  much  otherwise  as  I  stepped  on  deck. 
The  skipper  was  drunk  and  helpless.  The  decks  were 
thronged  with  shore  natives  —  men  and  women  nearly  all 
crying  and  half  drunk,  bidding  farewell  to  one  or  other  of 
the  crew. 

The  mate,  Jim  Knowles,  was  a  Tongan  half-caste,  who 
was  afterwards  hanged  in  Fiji  for  shooting  Larsen,  one  of 
the  Messrs.  Goddeffroy's  captains,  dead  on  his  own  ship. 
He  was  the  only  sober  man  on  board.  He  told  me  that  one 
of  Tapoleni's  friends  had  come  on  board,  and  that  she  had 
been  stowed  away  by  that  worthy,  who  swore  that  he  would 
not  leave  her  behind.  To  this  Maa  Maa  I  had  a  particular 
aversion,  and  always  hated  to  see  her  come  on  board.  She 
was  ugly  enough  in  all  conscience,  and  had  always  been 
said  to  be  the  cause  of  quarrels  and  fights  whenever  the 
skipper  took  her  on  a  trip.  Taking  Knowles  with  me,  we 
lugged  her  on  deck  screaming  and  biting.  As  she  refused 
to  get  into  a  canoe,  Knowles  threw  her  overboard,  where 
some  sympathising  friends  picked  her  up. 

Just  as  this  incident  terminated  I  received  a  note  from 
the  owners,  telling  me  to  delay  the  vessel's  departure  for 
half-an-hour.  Wondering  what  was  in  the  wind,  I  set 
about  restoring  order.  I  found  a  lot  of  liquor  in  the  foc'sle, 
which  I  took  aft  and  locked  up.  Then  with  Knowles'  aid 
I  succeeded  in  clearing  the  decks  of  the  women  and  shore 
loafers,  who  were  lying  about  in  all  stages  of  intoxication. 

At  eleven  o'clock  we  saw  two  boats  pulling  off  from  the 
shore,  and  noticed  armed  Samoans  among  the  crews.  As 
they  came  alongside  I  saw  seated  in  one  of  them  the  figures 
of  Black  Tom  and  his  son  Johnny,  both  heavily  ironed. 
In  the  stern  sat  his  Samoan  wife,  a  woman  named  Musia. 
A  number   of  white  residents  were  in  charge  of  the  lot, 


SAMOA    TO   MILLE  39 

and  I  was  informed  that  at  an  impromptu  mass  meeting, 
held  that  morning,  it  had  been  decided  to  expatriate  Tom 
and  his  family  for  the  good  of  the  country;  they  had  seized 
this  favourable  opportunity  of  carrying  their  resolution 
into  effect. 

This  was  a  pretty  state  of  affairs.  I  need  scarcely  explain 
my  indignation  at  having  two  such  characters  as  Black 
Tom  and  his  son  foisted  on  me  as  passengers.  I  was  about 
to  get  into  a  boat  and  let  them  carry  their  own  prisoners 
away,  when  I  was  told  that  I  could  land  him  and  his  family 
at  the  first  land  we  made.  This  would  be  Quiros  Island, 
bearing  N.N.W.  from  Apia. 

"All  right,  gentlemen,"  I  replied,  "and  as  everybody 
here  happens  to  be  drunk,  I'll  feel  obliged  if  you  will  be 
good  enough  to  lift  the  anchor  and  let  us  get  away." 

Tom  and  his  family  were  accordingly  put  in  the  hold, 
and  the  new-comers  having  got  the  anchor  up  bade  me 
farewell,  chuckling  at  having  rid  themselves  of  Black  Tom 
so  cleverly.  Whereupon  they  got  into  the  boats  and  pulled 
ashore. 

It  was  blowing  stiffly  as  we  ran  through  the  passage,  and 
certainly  we  presented  a  pretty  spectacle,  with  our  running 
gear  all  in  disorder,  and  the  crew  drunk  in  the  lee  scup- 
pers. I  had  the  keys  of  the  prisoners'  irons,  so  giving  the 
tiller  to  Knowles,  I  went  below  and  liberated  them. 

"Tom,"  I  said,  "my  instructions  are  to  keep  you  in  irons 
till  we  made  the  first  land.  Kow,  I've  got  nothing  against 
you,  but  I  don't  want  yovir  company,  and  I  consider  I  was 
served  a  shabby  trick  when  they  put  you  on  board.  I 
mean  to  be  even  with  them.  They  said  the  first  land. 
Now,  I'll  stand  on  this  tack  till  midnight;  then  I'll  put 
about  and  land  you  on  the  coast." 

The  negro's  bloodshot  eyes  showed  blind  fury  when  I 
first  approached  him,  but  his  look  softened  as  I  spoke.  He 
laughed,  evidently  enjoying  my  suggestion. 


40  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

"Thank  you,  sir,  for  taking  the  bracelets  off  us,  but  I 
don't  care  about  lauding  in  Samoa  again,  and  I'll  face  the 
voyage  with  you.  You're  the  first  man  that's  spoke  a  kind 
word  to  me  since  I  was  rushed  and  tied  in  my  own  house 
—  treated  like  a  wild  beast,  and,  by !  I'll  do  any  mor- 
tal thing  in  this  world  for  you." 

He  then  begged  me  not  to  land  him  at  Quiros,  but  to  let 
him  remain  on  board  until  we  met  Captain  Hayston  who, 
he  was  sure,  would  give  him  a  trading  station.  I  promised 
him  this,  and  in  return,  being  a  splendid  cook,  he  pro- 
vided me  during  the  remainder  of  the  voyage  with  all  sorts 
of  sea  delicacies. 

I  will  not  speak  of  the  dangers  of  that  wearisome  voy- 
age ;  the  drunkenness  that  I  tried  in  vain  to  svippress ;  the 
erratic  course  we  made  to  our  destination.  The  skipper 
sobered  up  every  two  or  three  days,  took  the  sun,  worked 
out  the  ship's  position,  and  let  me  steer  any  course  I  liked. 
Then  he  would  fly  to  his  bottle  of  "square-face,"  until  I 
thought  it  necessary  to  rouse  him  again  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain our  whereabouts.  At  last,  after  a  forty-two  days' 
passage,  we  sighted  the  low-lying  coral  islands  enclosing 
the  spacious  lagoon  of  Mille. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   BRIG   LEONORA 

The  island  of  Mille  is  situated  in  the  Radac  or  eastern 
portion  of  the  Marshall  group,  discovered  by  a  captain  of 
that  name  in  1788.  On  the  charts  it  bears  the  name  of  the 
Mulgrave  Lagoon,  and  the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  For 
the  most  part  the  islands  of  Polynesia  are  of  volcanic  ori- 
gin, whilst  the  lagoons,  which  sometimes  pass  for  islands, 
are  exclusively  of  coral  formation.  The  minute  insects 
which  form  them  build  their  submarine  wall  in  a  circle, 
which  growing  for  ages,  until  it  rises  at  low  water  above 
sea-level,  gradually  collects  sand  and  debris,  when  it  de- 
composes and  becomes  a  solid.  Then  comes  a  day  when 
wandering  cocoa-nuts  float  to  it  and  take  up  their  abode  on 
its  shores.  Gradually  a  ring  of  land  is  formed,  varying  in 
Avidth,  covered  with  a  wreath  of  palms,  sheltering  within 
its  circumference  a  peaceful  sea,  into  which  access  is  attain- 
able by  scattered  channels  only. 

The  spot  we  had  reached  was  of  this  description. 

Day  was  breaking  when  Ave  first  sighted  the  tops  of  the 
cocoa-palms,  and  putting  the  ketch  dead  before  the  Avind 
we  ran  down  to  the  passage.  On  going  aloft  I  was  glad  to 
see  the  spars  of  a  vessel  shoAving  about  three  miles  distant. 
As  none  of  the  crew  had  ever  visited  the  place  before,  we 
lay  to  and  fired  a  gun.  In  about  half-an-hour  we  saw  a 
boat  pulling  towards  us,  Avith  a  tall  man  standing  up  steer- 
ing.     It   Avas   Hayston.      Jumping   aboard   he   shook   me 

41 


42  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

warmly  by  the  hand,  and  said,  "So  you  see  we've  met 
again!     What  sort  of  passage  did  you  have? " 

I  recounted  our  misfortunes,  adding  the  information  that 
the  ketch  leaked  terribly. 

"Oh!  that's  just  like  Bascom,"  he  remarked.  "He  told 
me  that  he'd  send  her  down  as  sound  as  a  bell.  I  never 
had  a  chance  of  looking  at  her  when  she  was  on  the  beach 
at  Apia,  and  I  certainly  thought  he  would  act  squarely 
with  me.     But  we'll  talk  business  by  and  by." 

He  now  took  command  of  the  ketch,  and  brought  us  into 
the  lagoon,  where  we  dropped  anchor  in  ten  fathoms  along- 
side the  brig.  I  then  formally  handed  over  my  vessel  to 
him,  and  wished  the  king  of  Arnu  joy  of  his  bargain. 
After  receiving  full  particulars  of  the  voyage,  he  called  the 
skipper  aft. 

"Well,  Captain  Westendorf,"  he  said,  "you  have  most 
fortunately  reached  here  safely,  but  more  through  good 
luck  than  good  management.  I  know  you  to  be  an  experi- 
enced and  capable  navigator,  so  that  had  you  attended  to 
your  duty  you  would  have  made  Mille  ten  or  fifteen  days 
earlier.  Now,  you  can  go  ashore  and  live  with  my  trader 
till  you  get  a  passage  back  to  Samoa,  for  I'll  be  hanged  if 
I  take  you  back.  As  for  your  crew,  I  don't  want  them 
either ;  you  can  take  them  with  you  or  turn  them  adrift. 
The  ketch  I  intend  to  leave  here  until  I  return  from  Ascen- 
sion; but  mark  this  —  and  you  know  me  —  don't  attempt  to 
board  her  during  my  absence ;  good  day !  " 

I  felt  sorry  at  seeing  the  good-natured  "Tapoleni"  so 
humiliated;  for  with  the  exception  of  that  one  failing 
which  has  obscured  brighter  intellects,  and  which  was  the 
cause  of  all  his  troubles,  he  was  a  thoroughly  honest  old 
fellow. 

Black  Tom  and  his  wife  elected  to  remain  at  Mille  until 
they  found  a  suitable  island  on  which  to  open  a  trading 
station.     They  parted  from  me  with  many  professions  of 


THE   BRIG   LEONORA  43 

grcatitiide  which  I  think  were  sincere.  He  afterwards  be- 
came a  wealthy  man — such  are  fortune's  vagaries  in  the 
islands;  his  son  Johnny  earnestly  begged  me  to  intercede 
with  Captain  Hayston  on  his  account,  and  not  to  leave  him 
on  shore  at  Mille.  I  made  the  request,  and  the  Captain 
told  him  to  come  aboard  the  Leonora. 

During  the  afternoon  Hayston  and  I  went  over  the  ketch 
in  order  to  inspect  the  stores,  gear,  etc.,  when  he  asked 
me,  now  that  my  responsibility  had  ended,  what  were  my 
intentions  as  to  future  movements?  I  told  him  I  proposed 
to  charter  a  native  canoe  for  Arnu,  there  to  await  a  passing 
vessel  and  a  passage  to  Samoa.  From  this  course,  how- 
ever, he  dissuaded  me,  pointing  out  that  I  might  have  to 
stay  there  six  months.  He  then  offered  me  the  position  of 
supercargo  on  his  brig  at  a  fair  salary,  pressing  for  an 
immediate  answer. 

Thinking  it  better  to  be  earning  money  than  leading  a 
life  of  idleness  among  the  natives,  I  consented.  "  I  accept 
your  offer.  Captain,"  I  said;  "but  there  is  one  thing  I  wish 
you  to  understand,  I  am  coming  with  you,  not  for  the  sake 
of  the  pay,  but  because  I  don't  want  to  loaf  about  the  Mar- 
shall group  like  a  beach-comber,  and,  moreover,  I  should 
like  to  visit  the  Carolines.  I  don't  particularly  want  to 
return  to  Samoa,  and  if  I  see  a  place  I  like  I'll  start  trad- 
ing. Now,  I  am  willing  to  do  duty  as  supercargo,  even 
without  pay,  but  I  won't  lend  a  hand  in  any  transaction 
that  I  don't  like  the  look  of.  So  at  our  first  difference  you 
can  set  me  ashore." 

Hayston  looked  me  straight  in  the  face  and  held  out  his 
hand  —  "Well,  now,  that's  a  fair  deal.  I  give  you  my 
word  that  I  won't  ask  you  to  join  in  anything  doubtful. 
The  traders  round  here  are  the  greatest  scoundrels  unhung, 
and  I  have  to  treat  them  as  they  treat  me.  INIy  books  are 
in  a  bad  state,  and  you'll  find  work  enough  putting  them 
straight;  but  I'll  be  glad  of  your  company  aboard,  even  if 


44  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

you  never  do  a  hand's  turn."  So  the  bargain  was  closed. 
I  got  my  chest  from  the  hohl  and  sent  it  aboard  the  brig; 
the  steward  receiving  instructions  that  I  was  to  occupy  the 
port  side  of  the  cabin.  At  dusk  Hayston  gave  some  of 
the  crew  liberty,  and  sent  the  rest  with  the  mates  to  haul 
the  ketch  in  and  beach  her  as  the  tide  Avas  full.  While  he 
stood  watching  her  from  the  brig's  deck,  he  suddenly  re- 
marked that  they  were  making  a  mess  of  it,  and  calling  two 
boys  to  bring  the  dingey  alongside,  he  was  pulled  into  the 
shore. 

There  was  a  number  of  young  women  on  board,  natives 
of  the  Kingsmill  group,  good-looking,  but  wild  in  appear- 
ance. I  was  on  deck  and  they  were  below,  where  I  heard 
them  laughing  and  talking,  and  saw  they  were  seated  on 
the  lounge  that  ran  round  the  cabin.  They  all  seemed 
very  merry  over  a  game,  much  like  "knucklebones,"  which 
they  were  playing  with  shells.  A  large  canoe  was  bearing 
down  on  us  from  one  of  the  islands  in  the  lagoon,  and  just 
as  she  ran  up  in  the  wind  ahead  of  us,  allowing  the  topsail 
to  drift  down  alongside,  I  heard  a  man's  voice  mingling 
with  the  girls'. 

I  was  going  forward  to  have  a  close  look  at  the  canoe, 
when  I  saw  the  Captain  close  alongside  in  the  dingey.  He 
had  sailed  out  to  the  brig,  having  let  the  two  boys  remain 
on  shore  to  assist  at  the  ketch.  Just  as  he  stepped  over 
the  sail,  the  owner  of  the  voice  I  had  heard  ran  out  of  the 
cabin.  Hayston  gripped  him  by  the  arm,  and  I  heard  him 
sing  out,  "What,  would  you  knife  me?"  The  next  minute 
the  man  was  seized  in  the  powerful  arms,  lifted  high  above 
his  head,  and  then  dashed  upon  the  deck,  where  he  lay 
perfectly  still. 

The  Captain  disappeared  in  the  cabin,  and  running  up  I 
lifted  the  man's  head.  His  back  and  neck  seemed  broken, 
and  though  I  called  loudly  no  one  came  from  below.  There 
were  a  lot  of  Arunai  natives    in   the   hold   sleeping   and 


THE   BRIG    LEONORA  45 

smoking,  but  they  took  no  notice  of  my  calls,  which,  as  I 
didn't  know  a  word  of  their  language,  did  not  surprise  me. 
The  canoe  had  now  come  alongside,  and  the  Captain  reap- 
peared upon  deck.  The  chief  seemed  pleased  to  see  him, 
and  then  a  lot  of  natives  clambered  on  board  and  carried 
the  wounded  man  aboard  their  barque. 

Having  given  them  eight  or  ten  pounds  of  tobacco,  Hay- 
ston  told  them,  partly  in  English  and  partly  in  the  Mille 
dialect,  that  the  man  Avas  shamming  dead,  and  if  he  woke 
up  on  board  they  could  chuck  him  overboard  and  let  him 
swim.     Then  they  hoisted  sail  again  and  stood  away. 

I  felt  horrified,  for,  although  the  Captain  was  certainly 
justified  in  defending  himself  from  a  man  armed  with  a 
knife,  I  was  shocked  at  witnessing  the  result.  He,  how- 
ever, insisted  that  the  fellow  was  only  "foxing,"  and  so  the 
matter  ended.  When  the  boats  returned  from  the  ketch, 
I  heard  the  women  remark  to  the  sailors  that  Siake  (Jack) 
had  run  away  in  a  canoe,  because  ''  Kaptin  "  had  beat  him. 

At  daylight  next  morning  we  got  under  weigh,  and  I  was 
astonished  at  the  manner  in  which  Hayston  handled  the 
brig  through  the  narrow  passage.  After  accomplishing  this 
feat,  we  bore  away  for  Ujillong,  and  the  steward  called  us 
to  breakfast. 

Our  destination  was  the  almost  unknown  chain  of  coral 
islets  forming  Ujillong  or  Providence  Island.  Some  fifteen 
months  previously,  Hayston  had  discovered  a  passage 
through  the  reef  there,  and  sailed  his  brig  in.  He  was 
delighted  with  the  security  afforded  by  the  magnificent 
lagoon  inside.  The  islets  were  covered  with  cocoa-nuts,  and 
he  at  once  decided  upon  forming  a  principal  trading  station 
there,  making  it  a  centre  from  whence  he  could  work  the 
islands  in  the  North  Pacific.  There  were  only  thirty  natives 
on  the  whole  lagoon,  and  with  these  he  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing friendly  relations,  setting  them  to  work  in  erecting 
dwelling-houses  and  oil-sheds. 


46  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

We  left  in  charge  two  white  men  named  Jerry  Jackson 
and  Whistling  Bill,  together  with  a  number  of  Line  Island 
natives  who  were  to  assist  in  making  oil.  Hayston  told  me 
he  intended  to  settle  there  himself  and  cruise  among  the 
Carolines  and  Marshalls,  whilst  Captain  Peese,  his  col- 
league, would  run  a  small  vessel  to  China,  making  Ujillong 
his  headquarters.  On  this  occasion  he  expected  to  find  that 
a  large  quantity  of  oil  had  been  made  in  his  absence,  and 
was  anxious  to  get  there  as  quickly  as  possible. 

During  the  day  I  had  leisure  to  observe  the  crew,  and 
considering  that  none  of  them  were  white  men,  the  way  in 
which  the  brig  was  worked  was  simply  admirable.  They 
treated  the  officers  with  great  freedom  of  manner,  but  before 
the  Captain  they  seemed  absolutely  to  cower.  There  being 
some  thirty  of  them  they  were  by  no  means  over-worked. 
They  were  allowed  as  much  liquor  as  they  chose  to  buy  at 
a  dollar  a  bottle  for  gin,  beer  at  fifty  cents,  and  rum  at  a 
dollar.  With  such  license  one  would  naturally  think  that 
insubordination  would  be  rife.  It  was  not  so.  But  though 
they  never  broke  out  at  sea,  when  once  the  brig  anchored 
they  became  fiends  incarnate.  Gambling  and  drinking  then 
commenced.  The  sounds  of  oaths,  yells,  and  blows  floated 
up  from  the  foc'sle,  mingling  with  the  screams  of  the 
women,  and  the  night  was  made  horrible  with  their  din. 

Individual  members  of  the  crew  of  this  strange  vessel  I 
shall  describe  later  on  —  for  the  present  place  aux  dames ! 
Every  officer  had  a  native  wife,  and  the  Chinese  carpenter 
two.  Most  of  these  women  were  natives  of  Arurai  or  Hope 
Island,  one  of  the  Kingsmill  group.  They  were  darker  in 
complexion  than  the  other  Polynesians,  and  prone  to  violent 
jealousy  of  their  protectors.  It  was  by  no  means  uncommon 
to  see  two  of  these  girls  fighting  like  demons  on  the  main 
deck  with  their  national  weapons,  wooden  daggers  set  round 
with  shark's  teeth,  while  blood  poured  in  streams  from  their 
lacerated  limbs  and  bodies.     There  were  several  girls  from 


THE  BRIG   LEONORA  47 

Ocean  and  Pleasant  Island,  near  the  equator.  Very  good- 
looking  were  these  last,  and  fair  as  to  complexion.  The 
principal  belle,  whose  name  was  Nellie,  was  a  very  hand- 
some half-caste  —  a  native  of  Hope  Island.  Her  father,  a 
deserter  from  a  whaler,  had  acquired  such  influence  with 
the  natives  that  they  made  him  a  war  chief.  He  led  them 
when  they  cut  off  an  American  whaler  and  killed  the  whole 
crew.  Discarding  civilised  clothing,  he  became  a  native  in 
all  but  colour,  and  finally  met  his  death  in  a  skirmish  with 
a  hostile  tribe.  This  girl  was  his  daughter,  and  had  been 
given  as  a  present  to  Hayston  by  the  king  of  Arurai.  Along 
with  her  beauty  she  had  a  violent  and  dangerous  temper, 
and  was  never  backward  in  using  her  knife  on  any  woman 
that  provoked  her. 

We  had  merely  dropped  Mille  astern  of  us,  when  Hayston 
changed  his  mind  abovit  going  to  Arurai,  and  bore  away  to 
Pleasant  Island.  He  told  me  that  he  had  forgotten  a 
promise  made  to  the  traders  there  to  bring  them  supplies, 
but  that  he  would  call  at  Providence  on  our  way  back  from 
the  Carolines. 

Pleasant  Island  (or  Naura)  is  generally  considered  one  of 
the  Gilbert  group,  although  it  is  far  to  the  leeward,  and  the 
natives,  together  with  those  of  Ocean  Island  (or  Paanup), 
consider  themselves  a  distinct  people.  The  former  island 
is  in  latitude  0.25  S.,  longitude  167.5  E.,  and  the  latter  in 
latitude  0.505,  longitude  169.30  E. 

"  We've  got  a  bully  breeze,"  said  the  Captain;  "and  there 
is  a  straight  run  of  five  hundred  miles  before  we  sight  the 
cocoa-nuts  on  Pleasant  Island.  I'll  show  you  what  the 
Leonora  can  do." 

Our  course  was  something  about  S.W.  by  W,,  the  wind 
increasing  in  strength  as  we  put  the  helm  up  for  Pleasant 
Island,  and  during  the  afternoon,  so  quickly  was  the  brig 
slipping  through  the  water,  that  Hayston  said  we  should 
do  the  distance  —  four  hundred  and  ninety-five  miles  —  in 


48  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

forty-eight  hours.  I  was  astonished  at  the  rate  we  trav- 
elled, and  the  Captain  himself  seemed  pleased.  Calling 
the  hands  aft,  he  gave  them  a  glass  of  grog  all  round,  and 
told  the  women  to  go  on  the  main  deck  and  dance.  This 
created  considerable  amusement,  for  as  the  brig  was  running 
dead  before  the  wind,  and  occasionally  giving  rolls,  the 
dancers  losing  their  balance  got  some  heavy  falls  into  the 
scuppers,  while  the  others  laughed  and  enjoyed  their  mis- 
fortunes. 

We  ran  up  under  the  leeside  of  the  island  just  forty-four 
hours  after  leaving  Mille,  a  trifle  over  eleven  knots  an  hour. 
In  a  few  minutes  we  were  boarded  by  the  traders,  of  whom 
there  were  six.  They  were  certainly  a  rough  lot.  As  each 
man  lived  under  the  protection  of  a  particular  chief,  the 
island  being  divided  into  six  districts,  there  was  the  keenest 
business  rivalry  among  them. 

Hayston  called  them  down  below,  when  they  were  soon 
pretty  well  drunk. 

They  had  plenty  of  dollars,  and  bought  largely  of  arms 
and  ammunition.  I  was  employed,  with  the  second  mate, 
in  getting  up  the  guns,  principally  Snider  rifles,  from  the 
lazarette.  1  called  to  them,  one  by  one,  to  come  and  pick 
what  they  wanted;  however  they  seemed  quite  satisfied  to 
let  me  give  them  what  I  liked. 

The  brig  was  standing  off  and  on,  close  into  the  land,  in 
charge  of  the  boatswain,  the  mate  being  ill;  Hayston  was 
singing  "The  Zouave,"  and  the  traders  were  applauding 
uproariously,  whilst  two  were  dancing  with  Nellie  and  Sara, 
shouting  and  yelling  like  lunatics.  The  only  one  that  was 
sober  was  a  fine  young  fellow  who  seemed  ill,  and  was  sup- 
ported by  a  native.  This  young  fellow  paid  me  for  the 
arms  bought  by  his  comrades,  saying,  "  They're  all  drunk 
now,  and  as  I  don't  go  in  for  that  kind  of  thing  myself, 
they've  got  me  to  do  this  business  for  them."  The  man 
who  was  dancing  with  Sara  had  a  bag  of  dollars  in  his  hand. 


THE  BRIG   LEONORA  49 

and  as  he  waltzed  round  the  cabin  he  kept  swinging  it 
about  and  striking  the  woodwork  of  the  cabin. 

Carl,  the  sick  man,  called  out  to  him,  "  I  say,  Ned,  let  me 
have  that  money  now,  I'm  settling  up  for  you."  Swinging 
the  bag  of  dollars  round,  Ned  sent  it  full  at  liberty,  and 
struck  Carl  in  the  chest,  knocking  him  down.  I  picked  him 
up,  and  thought  by  the  pallor  of  his  face  that  he  was  either 
killed  or  seriously  injured. 

The  native  who  was  with  him  called  to  some  of  his  com- 
rades, and  a  young  woman  came  down  and  took  his  head  in 
her  lap,  while  I  got  a  decanter  of  water.  After  a  while  he 
came  round,  and  told  me  he  was  not  much  hurt,  but  that  the 
bag  of  money  was  heavy  and  had  bruised  his  chest  greatly. 

"  You  dog, "  he  said,  getting  up  and  walking  over  to  the 
other  man,  who  was  now  sitting  at  the  table  talking  to  the 
Captain,  "as  sure  as  my  name's  Carl  I'll  make  you  suffer 
for  this." 

"Come,  come,"  said  Hayston,  "it  was  only  Ned's  rough 
play.  I  don't  think  he  meant  to  hurt  you.  Besides,  I  don't 
want  to  see  white  men  fighting  on  board  my  ship." 

"  Look  here,  Captain,"  said  he,  pulling  off  his  shirt,  "  look 
at  my  body,  and  tell  me  if  Ned  thought  me  a  fit  subject  for 
a  joke." 

It  makes  me  shudder  now.  There  was  an  awful  gash  on 
his  back,  extending  from  his  right  shoulder  to  below  the 
ribs  on  the  right  side.  It  was  roughly  sewn  wp  here  and 
there,  and  seemed  to  be  healing,  but  the  blow  on  the  chest 
had  made  it  bleed  anew ;  a  dark  stream  was  soaking  down 
his  leg  to  the  ground. 

"By  heaven!  that  is  a  terrible  cut,"  said  the  Captain; 
"how  in  thunder  did  you  get  mauled  like  that? " 

Carl,  who  was  still  very  faint,  told  us  that  some  time  ago 
he  had  a  fight  with  a  native,  and  licked  him.  One  night, 
as  he  was  lying  face  downward  on  his  mat,  this  man  crept 
into  his  hut  and  struck  him  with  a  shark  tooth  sword.     His 


50  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

native  wife,  who  was  coining  into  the  house  at  the  time, 
carrying  two  shells  of  toddy,  dropped  them,  and  flinging  her 
arms  round  the  man's  legs,  tripped  him  up,  and  held  him, 
while  Carl,  all  smothered  in  blood,  shot  him  dead  with  his 
revolver. 

"Ned!"  said  the  Captain  gravely,  when  Carl's  tale  was 
told,  "  did  you  know  this  young  fellow  had  this  gash  in  his 
back  when  you  hove  the  bag  at  him?" 

"Of  course  I  did!  why,  d — n  him,  can't  he  take  a  joke? 
Naura's  a  rough  shop  for  a  man  that  can't  stand  a  bit  of 
fun." 

"  Put  up  your  hands,  you  cowardly  dog ! "  said  the  Cap- 
tain, and  in  an  instant  the  drunken  traders  cleared  a  space. 
"I'll  teach  you  to  hurt  a  wounded  man." 

Ned  was  as  big  a  man  as  the  Captain,  and  seemed  to  be 
the  leading  spirit  of  the  gang.  But  the  other  traders, 
though  armed  with  navy  revolvers  and  derringers,  did  not 
seem  inclined  to  interfere. 

At  the  first  round  the  big  trader  went  down  like  a  bullock, 
and  lay  on  the  cabin  floor  apparently  lifeless.  Hayston  Avas 
like  a  mad  animal  when  he  tried  to  get  him  up,  and  the 
man  fell  helpless.  Picking  him  up  in  his  arms  like  a  child, 
he  carried  him  on  deck,  the  rest  of  us  following. 

"  Here !     Naura  men,  where's  Ned's  boat?  "  he  called  out. 

It  was  towing  astern,  and  some  one  having  hauled  it  up, 
Hayston  dropped  the  man  into  it  like  a  log  of  wood. 

Then  his  good  temjjer  returned  instantly,  and  he  paid 
Carl  every  attention,  insisting  on  dressing  his  wound.  We 
remained  out  by  Pleasant  Island  all  day,  and  shipped  a  lot 
of  oil,  for  which  Hayston  paid  the  traders  in  arms  and 
ammunition;  we  then  stood  away  for  Ocean  Island. 

I  learned  that  Carl  had  been  a  petty  officer  on  board  the 
U.S.  cruiser  Wisli-ton-ioish,  but  had  deserted  and  made  his 
way  to  Pleasant  Island.  He  seemed  superior  to  his  com- 
panions in  every  way,  and  I  was  glad  to  be  able  to  give  him 
some  books. 


THE   BRIG   LEONORA  61 

He  told  me  that  he  belonged  to  the  New  England  States, 
but  that  he  could  never  return,  and  would  put  a  bullet 
through  his  head  rather  than  be  taken  back  a  disgraced 
man.  I  bade  him  farewell  with  regret,  and  learned  two 
years  afterwards  that,  a  month  after  I  saw  him,  he  had 
blown  his  brains  out,  as  the  U.S.  corvette  Roioena  touched 
at  the  island.  Poor  Carl !  How  many  a  tale  of  wasted  life, 
of  reckless  deeds,  and  early  death,  could  every  island  of  the 
South  Sea  tell. 

Although  Hayston  was  an  utterly  reckless  man  in  most 
matters,  he  was  by  no  means  foolhardy  where  the  lives  of 
others  were  concerned.  During  the  time  we  spent  at  Pleas- 
ant Island  every  precaution  was  taken  against  a  surprise. 

All  the  crew  carried  revolvers,  and  two  men  were  posted 
in  the  iore  and  main-tops  armed  with  Winchesters.  The 
natives  of  this  island  had  cut  off  many  ships  in  past  years, 
and  were  now  so  well  armed  and  determined  that  the  ut- 
most caution  was  needed. 

It  was  here  that  I  met  an  American  named  Maule  — 
about  as  hard  a  specimen  of  an  old  style  South  Sea  trader 
as  one  could  fall  across.  He  was  extremely  anxious  that 
I  should  purchase  two  native  girls  from  him.  They  were 
under  his  charge.  It  seems  their  father  had  been  killed, 
and  his  own  wife  objected  to  their  presence  in  his  house. 

I  told  him  that  I  was  supercargo,  and  therefore  could  not 
speculate  on  my  own  account.  Besides,  that  sort  of  traffic 
was  entirely  out  of  my  line.  If  he  had  curios,  weapons,  or 
Naura  gods,  I  would  deal,  but  there  I  drew  the  line. 

"Well,  blame  my  cats!  if  you  ain't  too  disgustin'  par- 
tickler!  Want  to  stuff  yer  cabin  with  kyurosities  and 
graven  images,  instead  of  dellikit  young  women.  Now, 
lookee  liyar  —  jest  you  take  them  two  gals  o'  mine  for  thirty 
dollars,  and  you'll  jest  double  your  money  from  king  Abin- 
oka.  He's  jest  mad  after  Naura  girls,  and  buys  'em  up  by 
the  dozen." 


62  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

Finding  that  I  wouldn't  invest,  he  tried  the  Captain, 
telling  him  that  the  girls  were  anxious  to  get  away  from 
Pleasant  Island,  as  their  father  was  dead,  and  having  no 
brothers,  they  could  not  get  food  enough  from  the  people. 
His  wife  was  jealous  too,  and  had  beaten  them. 

"  Well,  well!  "  said  the  Captain,  "bring  them  aboard,  and 
I'll  give  them  a  passage  somewhere.  I  suppose  by  and  by 
you'll  tell  some  man-of-war  captain  that  I  stole  them."  So 
the  trader  sent  them  on  board,  and  received  in  exchange 
some  boats'  gear  and  a  keg  of  molasses. 

The  girls  went  aft,  and  remained  with  the  others  in  the 
cabin  for  a  few  days.  When  we  sighted  Ocean  Island, 
Hayston  called  me  on  deck,  and  said,  "  Come  and  see  a  bit 
of  fun." 

Old  Mary  was  told  to  bring  up  her  flock.  The  two  Pleas- 
ant Island  girls  came  up  with  the  rest.  They  were  about 
fourteen  and  fifteen  years  of  age,  and,  from  their  close  sim- 
ilarity, probably  the  children  of  the  same  mother  —  a  some- 
what unusual  thing  in  the  Gilbert  group.  They  seemed 
frightened  at  being  called  up,  and  clung  closely  to  Sara  and 
Nellie.  Their  hair.  Pleasant  Island  fashion,  hung  down 
straight  upon  their  backs,  and  was  carefully  oiled  and 
combed.  A  girdle  of  Pandanus  leaf  was  their  only  garment. 
Speaking  kindly  to  them,  the  Captain  asked  them  if  they 
would  like  to  go  ashore  there  and  live.  I  give  the  conver- 
sation. 

Cax)tain.  — "Well,  will  you  go  ashore  here?" 
Girls.  —  "  Are  there  plenty  of  cocoa-nuts  and  fish?  " 
Captain.  —  "  Pretty  fair ;  but  there  are  not  always  plenty." 
Oirls.  —  "  What  chiefs  will  take  us  and  give  us  food?  " 
Captain.  —  "I  don't  know  —  there  are  more  women  there 
than  men.     All  the  young  men  have  gone  away  in  whale- 
ships" 

Qirls.  — "That's  bad;  the  Ocean  Island  women  will  soon 
kill  us  strangers." 


THE   BRIG   LEONORA  53 

Captain.  —  "  Most  likely.  Would  you  like  to  stay  on  the 
ship  if  I  get  you  husbands?  " 

Girls.  —  "  Yes !  where  are  they?  " 

Captain.  — "  Boatswain,  send  Sunday  and  boy  George 
here." 

These  were  two  boys  who  had  been  sailing  with  Hayston 
for  some  years.  Both  were  about  sixteen.  Of  George  I 
will  speak  later  on.  Having  come  aft,  the  Captain,  address- 
ing them,  said  he  was  pleased  at  their  steadiness,  and  as  a 
reward  for  their  good  conduct,  he  had  at  great  expense  pro- 
cured them  wives,  whom  he  hoped  they  would  treat  well. 
His  speech  was  a  humorous  one,  and  the  crew  standing 
round  grinned  approvingly  —  Sunday  and  boy  George  being, 
apparently,  looked  upon  as  lucky  youths,  for  the  girls  were 
undeniably  good-looking.  In  fact,  I  never  saw  an  ill-looking 
Pleasant  islander. 

"  Now,  Terau  and  N'jilong,  you  must  draw  lots  for  first 
pick.     Carpenter,  bring  me  two  splinters  of  wood." 

They  were  instructed  by  the  other  native  girls  how  to 
draw  lots,  the  result  being  that  Terau  picked  boy  George, 
and  her  sister  took  Sunday. 

"  Steward !  "  commanded  Hayston,  ''  bring  up  a  couple  of 
bottles  of  grog.  And  you,  Sunday  and  boy  George !  before 
you  begin  your  married  life  just  listen  to  me!  Call  all 
hands  aft!" 

The  crew  came  aft,  and  the  Captain,  who  now  seemed 
quite  serious,  said,  "  Now,  boys,  I  have  given  these  girls  to 
Sunday  and  boy  George.  Don't  let  me  hear  of  any  one 
attempting  to  interfere  with  them,  and  if  one  of  you  puts 
his  head  into  the  boys'  house  while  the  girls  are  there  alone, 
I'll  make  it  warm  for  him.  There's  a  couple  of  bottles  of 
grog  for  the  watch  to  drink  their  healths,  and  the  steward 
has  two  more  for  the  watch  below.  For'ard  now,  and  you, 
boys,  go  and  ask  the  supercargo  for  some  cloth  to  rig  your 
girls  out  with." 


54  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

The  Leonora  was  certainly  a  very  sociable  and  domesti- 
cated sliii). 

We  lay  off  and  on  at  Ocean  Island  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
engaged  twenty-seven  natives  to  proceed  to  Ponape  (Ascen- 
sion Island)  to  work  for  Cappelle  and  Milne,  a  German 
firm.  Then  we  made  an  easterly  course  to  Taputanea  (or 
Drummond  Island),  one  of  the  Gilbert  group,  where  Hay- 
ston  had  a  trader. 

The  Drummond  islanders  are  notorious  throughout  the 
Pacific  for  treachery  and  ferocity.  They  frequently  cut  off 
vessels,  and  murder  all  hands,  being  led  on  these  occasions 
by  renegade  white  men.  When  Commodore  White's  ships 
visited  this  spot  in  1842  they  murdered  one  of  his  seamen. 
A  fight  ensued,  in  which  many  were  killed,  and  the  town  of 
Utiroa  was  laid  in  ashes.  But  the  lesson  had  no  great 
effect,  and  Hayston  told  me  that  they  would  not  hesitate  to 
attemjot  the  capture  of  any  vessel  that  could  not  make  a 
good  resistance. 

We  sighted  the  island  at  night-time,  and  lay  off  Utiroa 
till  daylight.  Then  after  putting  the  brig  in  a  state  of 
defence,  and  giving  the  command  to  the  Fiji  half-caste. 
Bill,  telling  him  also  to  shoot  a  certain  native  if  he  saw 
him  come  alongside,  Hayston  had  the  longboat  and  whale- 
boat  lowered. 

Into  the  former  he  put  a  great  quantity  of  trade,  princi- 
pally gin,  rum,  and  firearms,  giving  me  charge  of  the  latter 
to  cover  him.  I  had  six  men  with  me,  each  armed  with  a 
Vetterlich  rifle,  and  I  carried  my  own  Winchester  —  eigh- 
teen shot.  Hayston  gave  me  full  instructions  how  to  act 
if  he  was  attacked;  then  we  made  for  the  town  of  Utiroa, 
the  boats  keeping  alongside  of  each  other.  As  we  were 
pulling  Hayston  told  me  that  he  wished  to  get  ashore 
before  the  canoes  left,  in  order  to  interview  his  trader  Jim 
in  the  presence  of  the  people.  This  fellow,  it  appeared, 
was  a  fighting  man  who  had  great  influence  over  the  Drum- 


THE   BRIG    LEONORA  55 

mond  Island  natives,  with  whom  bloodshed  and  murder 
were  acts  of  everyday  occurrence.  He  always  aided  them 
in  their  tribal  fights,  and  evinced  a  partiality  for  taking  life 
that  had  won  their  warmest  admiration.  Hayston  had 
brought  him  from  Ponape,  where  he  was  the  terror  of  the 
white  men,  swaggering  about  the  ports  of  the  island,  and 
using  his  pistol  on  any  one  that  resented  his  conduct.  But 
he  was  a  good  trader  for  all  that,  and  had  been  placed  in 
this  trust  because  no  other  man  could  be  found  willing  to 
risk  his  life  among  such  a  treacherous  race. 

Jim  had  not  been  installed  a  week  at  Utiroa,  when  a 
chief  named  Tabirau  gave  him  one  of  his  daughters  for  a 
wife,  and  was  paid  for  her  in  trade  according  to  custom. 
Shortly  afterwards  the  girl  ran  home  again,  saying  that  the 
white  man  had  beaten  her  for  spoiling  a  razor. 

Jim  took  his  rifle,  went  to  his  father-in-law's  house,  and 
demanded  the  girl  back.  A  number  of  natives  followed  up, 
anticipating  that  he  Avould  be  killed,  for  Tabirau  was  a 
chief  of  note,  not  averse  to  the  extermination  of  white  men. 
As  they  expected,  he  refused  to  give  up  the  girl  unless  Jim 
paid  more  trade,  alleging  that  one  of  the  muskets  paid  for 
her  was  no  good.  Without  a  moment's  hesitation  the 
trader  shot  him  through  the  body,  killing  him  instantly, 
and  then  clubbed  the  girl  to  death  with  the  butt  end  of  his 
rifle. 

Instead  of  being  murdered  by  the  natives  for  this  atro- 
cious deed,  he  was  looked  upon  as  a  hero,  and  all  Tabirau's 
land,  canoes,  and  property  were  made  over  to  him.  The 
people  of  Utiroa  elected  him  to  be  their  commercial  ruler, 
refusing  to  sell  oil  or  produce  to  any  ship  without  his 
advice  or  consent.  For  a  while  his  conduct  had  quite  satis- 
fied Hayston,  until  he  learned  that  Jim  had  sold  a  lot  of  his 
oil  to  a  Californian  trader,  boasting,  besides,  that  Hayston 
dared  not  bring  him  to  task  for  it. 

It  was  now  the  Captain's  intention  to  assert  his  authority, 


56  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

and  break  the  trader's  power  over  the  natives.  For  this 
purpose  he  determined  to  meet  him  on  shore,  and  let  the 
natives  see  which  was  the  better  man. 

As  we  approached  the  beach  we  saw  fully  five  hundred 
natives  assembled;  all  were  armed,  and  many  dressed  in 
their  thick  armour  of  fibre,  and  wearing  helmets  of  the 
skin  of  the  porcupine  fish.  There  was  great  excitement 
among  them,  though  many  of  them  seemed  glad  to  see 
Hayston,  calling  out  "  Tiaka  po,  Kaptin  "  (How  do  you  do). 
The  main  body,  however,  seemed  ready  to  dispute  our  land- 
ing. 

"  Keep  close  up !  "  the  Captain  called  out  to  me,  "  and 
don't  let  any  of  them  see  your  arms,  but  be  ready  to  drop  it 
into  them  the  first  shot  that  is  fired.  But,  for  God's  sake, 
don't  miss.  That  villain  Jim,  you  see,  isn't  here,  though; 
those  fellows  mean  mischief.  However,  land  I  must,  and 
will."  He  then  told  the  crew  to  run  the  boat  on  the  beach, 
and  standing  up  in  the  stern,  called  out  to  natives  that  he 
knew,  pretending  to  see  nothing  unusual  in  their  manner. 
At  the  moment  that  he  stepped  on  the  beach  the  whole  body 
of  natives  fonned  in  solid  line  in  front  of  him,  while  hun- 
dreds of  rifle  muzzles  were  almost  thrust  in  his  face.  He 
looked  steadily  at  them,  and  commenced  to  talk  with  his 
hands  in  his  trousers'  pocket. 

I  forgot  my  instructions,  and  my  crew  seemed  equally 
excited  at  the  Captain's  danger,  for,  without  being  told,  they 
ran  the  whaleboat  ashore  and  we  all  jumped  out.  The  men 
in  the  other  boat  were  standing  up  rifle  in  hand,  and  they 
followed  us. 

The  Captain  was  speaking  calmly  to  the  natives,  when  he 
turned  and  saw  me.  "For  God's  sake,  go  back  to  the 
boats,"  he  said,  in  a  quiet  tone;  then  raising  his  hand 
threateningly  and  roaring  like  a  lion,  he  repeated  the  order 
in  the  Drummond  Island  dialect.  I  understood  this  hint, 
so  we  ran  back,  but  kept  our  arms  ready.     Hayston's  order 


THE   BRIG   LEONORA  57 

to  me  seemed  to  have  a  good  effect,  for  the  fierce  looks  of 
the  natives  relaxed,  and  soon  afterwards  he  called  out  that 
it  was  all  right,  and  told  me  to  give  him  two  muskets  and 
a  box  of  tobacco  out  of  the  longboat.  This  was  a  present 
for  two  of  the  principal  chiefs,  who  now  shook  hands  with 
him,  saying  that  Jim  was  in  his  house,  and  had  told  them 
that  if  Captain  Hayston  put  his  foot  inside  he  would  shoot 
him.  Our  former  opponents  seemed  pretty  equally  divided 
in  their  opinions.  Half  of  them  were  eager  to  see  the  figlit 
between  Jim  and  the  Captain,  and  the  others  were  ready  to 
massacre  the  whole  of  us  if  but  a  single  act  of  hostility  was 
committed  on  either  side. 

Hayston  ordered  me  then  to  come  with  him,  and  asked 
the  natives'  permission  to  alloAv  me  to  bring  my  Winchester, 
as  I  was  frightened  of  them.  The  boats  were  shoved  out, 
the  crew  being  told  to  jump  ashore  if  they  heard  any  firing, 
and  fight  their  way  to  Jim's  house.  As  I  joined  the  Cap- 
tain on  the  beach  he  told  me  that  the  natives  thought  he 
meant  to  kill  Jim,  and  that  they  had  felt  him  all  over  to 
see  if  he  had  concealed  any  arms,  but  that  they  seemed 
satisfied  when  they  found  none.  I  was  astonished  at  his 
recklessness  in  not  bringing  weapons,  and  as  we  were 
escorted  along  the  road  by  the  natives,  I  told  him  that  I  had 
a  derringer  hidden  among  some  tobacco  in  a  canvas  bag 
slung  round  my  waist. 

"No,  no!  "  he  said.  "  It  will  never  do  to  see  you  give  it 
to  me  now.  Besides,  I  don't  want  any  shooting  if  I  can 
help  it.  There  are  many  of  these  natives  who  will  be  glad 
to  see  Jim's  power  broken,  and  I  want  to  get  my  hands  on 
him  before  he  puts  a  bullet  into  me.  The  rest  is  easy 
enough.  If  you  see  him  taking  a  shot  at  me  before  I  come 
up  to  him,  you  can  use  that  rifle;  but  don't  kill  him  if  you 
can  help  it,  and  don't  be  alarmed  about  yourself.  Take 
hold  of  this  old  nigger's  hand  who  is  walking  beside  you 
and  you'll  be  all  right.     Just  keep  laughing  and  talking." 


58  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

After  a  long  walk  we  got  up  to  the  trader's  house,  and 
here  the  natives  made  a  halt.  I  was  beginning  to  feel 
horribly  scared,  and  wished  we  were  on  board  the  brig 
again.  Presently  we  were  told  that  Jim  was  inside,  and 
would  not  come  out  because  he  was  sick.  Walking  steadily 
forward  the  Captain  advanced  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
house,  and  called  out,  ''Well,  this  is  a  nice  sort  of  welcome, 
Jim!     Come  out  and  show  yourself." 

The  door  opened,  and  I  could  see  that  the  place  was  filled 
with  natives,  all  of  whom  carried  guns  and  seemed  much 
excited. 

Then  Jim  made  his  appearance  and  walked  sloAvly  up  to 
the  Captain.  He  was  a  tall  man,  dressed  in  pyjamas,  with 
two  navy  revolvers  in  his  belt.  With  his  heavy  red  mous- 
tache and  bloodshot  eyes,  he  looked  his  character  well  — 
that  of  an  unscrupulous  and  remorseless  ruffian.  Hayston 
had  seated  himself  on  a  fallen  cocoa-nut  tree  with  his  hands 
full  of  papers. 

"  How  d'ye  do,  Jim?  "  he  said,  extending  his  hand  to  the 
trader  and  rising  as  he  spoke.  The  moment  the  trader's 
hand  touched  his,  he  seized  him  by  the  throat  and  shook 
him  like  a  dog  shaking  a  rat;  then  spun  him  round  vio- 
lently and  threw  him  against  the  stern  of  a  canoe,  where  he 
lay  half  stunned.  The  natives  gave  a  roar,  but  the  Captain 
held  up  his  hands  —  the  tide  seemed  to  turn  at  once  in  our 
favour,  and  one  man  went  up  to  the  trader,  took  away  his 
pistols,  and  gave  them  to  Hayston.  The  Captain  addressed 
the  principal  chiefs,  whom  he  told  that  Jim  had  robbed 
him,  and  that  after  he  had  made  presents  to  the  people,  he 
intended  to  take  the  rest  of  the  trade  away. 

We  were  moving  into  the  house  to  take  possession,  when 
the  trader,  who  had  now  recovered  himself,  got  up  and  ad- 
dressed the  natives.  I  did  not  understand  what  he  said,  but 
Hayston  evidently  did.  The  effect  of  Jim's  harangue  was 
to  render  the  natives  undecided  as  to  what  course  to  adopt. 


THE   BRTG   LEONORA  59 

One  man,  who  spoke  good  English  and  had  a  rifle  witli  a 
sword  bayonet  attached,  said  it  did  not  matter  if  any  one 
was  killed,  but  they  thought  their  white  man  did  not  have 
fair  play. 

"  Jim,"  said  the  Captain,  in  his  smoothest  tones,  "  you  say 
you  can  whip  any  man  in  the  Pacific  in  four  rounds.  Well ! 
now  you  have  an  opportunity  to  prove  your  words.  If  you 
are  a  better  man  than  I  am,  I  will  let  you  keep  what  trade 
you  have  got,  and  shake  hands  afterwards." 

Jim  stripped  to  the  waist,  and  called  for  one  of  his 
women  to  bring  him  a  pair  of  "  taka  "  or  "  cinnet "  sandals, 
as  he  was  barefooted. 

He  was  shaking  with  rage  and  excitement,  while  Hayston 
showed  no  concern  whatever.  From  the  jump  the  trader 
forced  the  fighting,  but  in  less  time  than  I  describe  it,  both 
of  his  eyes  were  nearly  closed,  and  he  had  a  terrific  cut  on 
his  cheekbone.  Some  women  then  ran  in  and  begged  the 
Captain  to  desist.  I  believe  he  could  have  killed  his  man  in 
another  five  minutes.  He  asked  Jim  if  he  was  satisfied  and 
would  shake  hands.  But  the  trader  would  not  answer,  and 
then  the  Captain's  face  grew  dark.  Seizing  him  again  by 
the  throat  he  nearly  strangled  him,  his  eyes  protruding  hor- 
ribly as  he  worked  his  arms  in  the  air.  When  he  let  him 
go  he  fell  like  a  log.  "  Carry  him  down  to  the  boats  and 
make  him  fast,"  he  said  to  the  interpreter. 

We  entered  his  house  unmolested,  and  I  took  an  inventory 
of  his  goods.  There  was  very  little  trade  left,  but  the 
natives  said  he  had  a  lot  of  money  given  him  by  the  skipper 
of  the  Californian  vessel.  This  we  found  in  a  large  soup 
and  bouilli  tin  in  his  chest.  It  amounted  to  nearly  seven 
hundred  dollars,  mostly  in  U.S.  half-dollar  coins. 

The  natives  begged  the  Captain  not  to  close  the  station 
up;  if  Jim  was  going  away,  they  wished  some  one  in  his 
place.  He  said  he  would  consider  their  wish  after  he  got 
on  board;  but  they  must  first  help  him  to  raft  off  twenty 
casks  of  oil  that  were  lying  in  Jim's  oil-shed. 


60  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

We  got  off  to  the  boats  at  last.  The  old  man  still  kept 
hold  of  my  left  hand.  This,  the  Captain  had  told  me,  he 
had  done  to  protect  me  if  any  fighting  took  place;  that  if 
fighting  had  resulted  I  would  not  have  been  killed,  but 
would  have  been  regarded  as  the  old  man's  prize.  The 
natives  launched  their  canoes  and  followed  the  boats  in 
swarms  when  we  set  sail  for  the  brig.  As  soon  as  we  got 
alongside,  Hayston  asked  the  second  mate  if  the  native  he 
had  spoken  of  had  shown  up. 

"No,"  said  Bill;  ''he's  gone  away  to  Samoa,  so  they  say 
here." 

Hayston  seemed  pleased  at  this  news,  telling  me  that  this 
man  was  a  special  enemy  of  his,  into  whom  he  meant  to  put 
a  bullet  if  he  could  drop  across  him.  As  he  was  gone  away 
he  was  saved  an  unpleasant  task.  Jim  was  taken  for'ard, 
and  the  carpenter  was  ordered  to  put  him  in  irons;  there- 
upon he  sulkily  explained  that  he  didn't  intend  to  turn 
rusty. 

"All  right,  then,  Jim,"  replied  the  Captain.  "I'm  glad 
we're  going  to  be  friends  again.  But  you  can  go  ashore  at 
Makin  and  stay  there." 

He  then  called  for  a  man  among  his  crew  to  take  Jim's 
place  on  shore.  After  some  hesitation  a  sturdy  Eotumah 
native  said  he  didn't  mind,  if  the  Captain  gave  him  a  wife. 
He  couldn't  speak  the  language,  and  if  he  took  a  Taputana 
woman  she  might  plot  to  kill  him  and  he  be  none  the  wiser. 

"  Boys !  "  called  out  the  Captain,  "  is  any  one  of  you 
willing  to  give  Willie  his  wife?  I'll  make  it  up  to  him. 
Besides,  there'll  be  plenty  more  going  through  the  Marshall 
group." 

No  one  appeared  struck  with  the  idea.  So  the  Captain 
called  Sunday  aft,  and  held  brief  conversation  with  him, 
after  which  the  boy  went  into  the  deckhouse  and  brought 
out  his  wife  and  N'jilong.  The  poor  girl  shed  a  few  tears 
at  first  and  clung  to  Sunday's  neck,  but  he  finally  induced 


THE   BEIG    LEONORA  61 

her  to  go  with  Willie.  She  had  come  aboard  almost  naked, 
but  went  away  with  a  well-filled  chest  and  any  amount  of 
finery. 

She  parted  from  her  sister  in  an  apathetic  manner,  but 
her  tears  began  to  flow  afresh  when  Sunday  turned  coolly 
from  her  and  pursued  his  duties  on  the  deck.  Savage 
though  she  might  be,  she  felt  the  parting  from  the  hardened 
young  wretch  whom  she  had  come  to  look  on  as  her  partner. 
However  she  lost  nothing  by  the  change.  Her  new  husband 
was  a  steady,  good  fellow  who  treated  her  kindly.  Years 
afterwards  I  met  them  both  on  one  of  the  Ellice  Islands  and 
received  a  warm  welcome.  Willie  had  legally  married  her 
in  Fiji,  and  they  seemed  a  most  affectionate  couple,  with 
children  in  whom  their  chief  pride  in  life  was  centred. 


CHAPTER   VI 

t 

CAPTAIN    BEN    PEESE 

For  the  next  few  weeks  we  cruised  about  among  the 
islands  of  the  Kingsmill  and  Gilbert  groups,  collectively 
known  as  the  Line  Islands.  The  most  southerly  of  them 
is  Arurai  or  Hope  Island,  in  the  latitude  2.41  S.,  longitude 
177  E.  —  the  most  northerly,  Makin  or  Butaritu,  in  latitude 
3.20,  45  N. 

We  did  good  business  generally  going  through  this  group, 
and  steady  going  trade  it  was,  varied  only  by  the  mad 
drunken  bouts  and  wild  dances  which  took  place  when  we 
were  at  anchor  —  these  last  beyond  description. 

Just  then  I  was  badly  hurt  fishing  on  shore  one  day.  It 
was  peculiarly  a  South  Sea  accident.  I  was  standing  on  a 
jutting  ledge  of  coral,  holding  my  rod,  when  it  suddenly 
broke  off,  allowing  me  to  fall  downwards  on  sharp  edges, 
where  I  was  terribly  cut  about  the  legs  and  body.  The 
green  or  live  coral  has  the  property  of  making  a  festering 
wound  whenever  it  pierces  the  true  skin,  and  for  weeks, 
with  my  unhealed  wounds,  I  was  nearly  mad  with  pain. 
The  Captain  did  all  he  could  for  me,  having  a  netted  ham- 
mock slung  on  deck,  where  I  could  see  all  that  was  going  on. 
One  day  in  a  fit  of  pain  I  fell  out  and  nearly  cracked  my 
skull.  All  the  native  girls  on  board  were  most  kind  and 
patient  in  nursing  me.  So  the  Captain  said  the  least  1 
could  do  was  to  marry  one,  if  only  out  of  gratitude  and  to 
brush  away  the  flies. 

Whatever  some  people  might  call  these  poor  girls  they 
had  at  least  one  virtue,  which,  like  charity,  covereth  a  mul- 

02 


CAPTAIN   BEN   PEESE  63 

titude  of  sins.  Pity  for  any  one  in  bodily  pain  they  pos- 
sessed in  the  highest  degree.  Many  an  hour  did  they  sit 
beside  me,  bathing  my  aching  head  with  a  sponge  and  salt 
water  —  this  last  the  universal  and  infallible  cure. 


We  called  at  Peru  or  Francis  Island,  where  we  obtained 
nine  natives  —  five  men  and  four  young  women.  The 
islanders  here  are  rude  and  insulting  to  all  strangers  not 
carrying  arms,  and  almost  as  threatening  as  those  of  Tapu- 
tana.     I  was,  however,  too  ill  to  go  on  shore  here. 

After  a  two  months'  cruise  through  this  group  we  bore 
away  for  Strong's  Island,  distant  some  five  hundred  miles. 
We  had  favourable  winds,  and  the  brig's  speed  was  some- 
thing wonderful.  In  thirty-eight  hours  we  had  covered  a 
distance  of  four  hundred  and  ninety  miles,  when  the  lofty 
hills  of  this  gem  of  the  North  Pacific,  covered  with  brightest 
verdure,  gladdened  our  eyes  after  the  long,  low-lying  chains 
of  islets  and  atolls  of  the  Marshall  and  Kingsmill  groups. 

The  brave  "  north-east  trade  "  that  had  borne  us  so  gal- 
lantly along  died  away  to  a  zephyr  as  we  drew  near  the 
land,  and  saw  once  more  the  huge  rollers  thundering  on  the 
Aveather  point  of  the  island. 

Calling  first  at  Chabral  harbour  we  did  a  little  trading, 
and  then  sailed  down  the  coast  close  to  the  shore  —  so  deep 
runs  the  water  —  till  we  reached  Utwe. 

Here  we  found  three  American  whalers  put  in  for  food 
and  water.  Hayston  seemed  anxious  to  get  away,  so,  after 
exchanging  courtesies  with  the  skippers,  we  ran  round  to 
Coquille  harbour,  where  we  lay  several  days  trading  and 
painting  ship.  We  cleared  the  harbour  at  daylight,  with 
the  sea  as  smooth  as  glass  and  wind  so  light  that  the 
Leonora  could  scarcely  stem  the  strong  easterl}-  current. 
Still  keeping  a  north-west  course,  we  sailed  away  over  the 
summer  sea  while  scarce  a  ripple  broke  its  glassy  surface. 


64  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

until  we  sighted  Pingelap  or  M'Askill's,  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  from  Strong's  Island. 

These  were  discovered  by  Captain  Musgrave,  of  tlie 
American  whaler  Sugar  Cane,  in  1793.  They  are  densely 
covered  with  cocoa-palms,  and  though  wholly  of  coral 
formation,  are  a  good  height  above  sea-level. 

The  Captain  had  a  trader  here  named  Sam  Biggs  —  a 
weak-kneed,  gin-drinking  cockney.  How  ever  such  a  char- 
acter could  have  found  his  way  to  these  almost  unknown 
islands  passed  my  comprehension!  We  ran  in  close  to  the 
village  —  so  near  that,  the  wind  being  light,  we  nearly 
drifted  onto  the  beach,  and  lowered  the  starboard  quarter 
boat  to  tow  out  again. 

Whilst  waiting  for  the  trader  I  had  a  good  look  at  the 
village,  which  I  was  surprised  to  hear  contained  500  inhabi- 
tants. As,  however,  these  islands  —  there  are  three  of 
them,  Takai,  Tugula,  and  Pingelap  —  are  wondrous  fertile, 
they  support  their  populations  easily. 

Presently  the  trader  came  off  in  a  canoe,  and,  shambling 
along  the  deck,  went  down  below  to  give  in  his  report.  He 
said  that  things  were  very  bad.  A  few  months  back  the 
American  missionary  brig  Morning  Star  had  called  and 
prevailed  on  the  king  to  allow  two  teachers  to  be  landed. 
After  making  presents  to  the  chiefs  and  principal  men, 
they  had  got  their  promise  to  accept  Christianity  and  to 
send  the  white  man  Biggs  about  his  business.  They  had 
also  told  the  natives  that  Captain  Hayston  was  coming 
with  the  intention  of  carrying  them  off  in  bondage  to  work 
on  the  plantations  in  Samoa.  Also  that  Mr.  Morland,  the 
chief  missionary,  was  now  in  Honolulu,  begging  for  a  man- 
of-war  to  come  to  Pingelap  and  fight  Captain  Hayston's 
ship  with  his  big  guns  and  sink  her. 

All  South  Sea  islanders  are  easily  influenced.  In  a  few 
hours  after  the  teachers  landed  the  whole  village  declared 
for  Christianity,  burned  their  idols,  and  renounced  the  devil 


CAPTAIN    BEN   PEESE  65 

and   all   his   works,    i.e.   Captain    Hayston    and    the   brig 
Leonora. 

The  Captain's  face  darkened  as  he  listened;  then  he  asked 
the  trader  what  he  had  done  in  the  matter.  The  man, 
blinking  his  watery  eyes,  said  he  had  done  nothing;  that  he 
was  afraid  the  natives  would  kill  him,  and  asked  to  be 
taken  away. 

Jumping  up  from  the  table,  Hayston  grasped  him  by  the 
collar,  and  asked  me  to  look  at  him  and  say  what  he  should 
do  with  such  a  white-livered  hound,  Avho  would  let  one  of 
the  finest  islands  in  the  Pacific  be  handed  over  to  the  sanc- 
timonious pack  on  board  the  Morning  Star,  and  let  the  best 
trading  station  he,  Hayston,  owned  be  ruined? 

I  suggested  that  he  should  be  detained  on  board  till  we 
met  the  Morning  Star,  and  then  be  given  to  INIr.  Morland  to 
keep. 

"By— — !  just  the  thing!  but  just  let  me  tell  you,  you 
drunken  hound,  that  wlien  I  picked  you  up  a  starving  beach- 
comber in  Ponape,  I  thought  you  had  at  least  enough  sense 
to  know  that  I  am  not  a  man  to  be  trifled  with.  I  was  the 
first  man  to  place  a  trader  on  Pingelap.  I  overcame  the 
natives'  hostility,  and  made  this  one  of  the  safest  islands 
in  the  group  for  whaleships  to  call  at.  Now  I  have  lost 
a  thousand  dollars  by  your  cowardice.  So  take  this  to 
remember  it  by." 

Then,  holding  him  by  one  hand,  he  shook  him  like  a  rag, 
finally  slinging  him  up  the  companion  Avay,  and  telling  the 
men  to  tie  him  up. 

"Lower  away  the  longboat,"  he  roared,  "I'll  teacli  the 
Pingelap  gentry  how  to  dance."  I  went  witli  him,  as  I 
wanted  to  get  some  bananas  and  young  cocoa-nuts.  In  five 
minutes  we  drew  up  on  the  beach. 

The  head-men  of  the  island  now  came  forward  to  meet 
the  Captain,  and  to  express  their  pleasure  at  seeing  him. 
But  he  was  not  to  be  mollified,  and  sternly  bade  them  follow 


66  A   MODERN   BUCCANEEii 

him  to  the  largest  house  in  the  town  where  he  would  talk  to 
them. 

The  boy  Sunday,  who  was  a  native  of  Pingelap,  came 
with  us  to  act  as  interpreter.  Behind  the  crowd  of  natives 
were  the  two  Hawaiian  teachers,  dressed  in  white  linen 
shirts  and  drill  trousers.  They  had  their  wives  with  them, 
dressed  in  mixed  European  and  native  costume. 

Xone  of  us  had  arms,  nor  did  we  think  them  necessary. 
Hitherto  these  people  had  been  slavish  admirers  of  Hayston, 
and  he  assured  me  that  he  would  reassert  his  former  influ- 
ence over  them  in  ten  minutes.  The  crowd  swarmed  into 
the  council-house  and  sat  down  on  their  mats.  The  Captain 
remained  standing. 

His  grand,  imposing  form,  as  he  stood  in  the  centre  of 
the  house  and  held  up  his  hands  for  silence,  seemed  to  awe 
them  as  would  a  demi-god,  and  murmurs  of  applause  broke 
from  them  involuntarily. 

"Tell  them,  Sunday,"  he  said,  fixing  his  piercing  blue 
eyes  on  the  cowering  forms  of  the  two  missionary  teachers, 
"  that  I  have  come  to  talk  peace,  not  to  fight.  Ask  them 
who  it  was  years  ago,  when  the  hurricane  came  and  de- 
stroyed their  houses  and  plantations  —  when  their  little 
ones  were  crying  with  hunger  —  that  brought  them  to  his 
ship  and  fed  them?  Have  they  forgotten  who  it  was  that 
carried  them  to  Ponape,  and  there  let  them  live  on  his  land 
and  fed  them  on  his  food  till  they  grew  tired  of  the  strange 
land,  and  then  brought  them  back  to  their  homes  again?" 

Sunday  translated,  and  the  silence  was  unbroken  till  the 
Captain  resumed,  "Did  not  the  men  of  Pingelap  say  then 
that  no  man  should  be  more  to  them  than  me  —  that  no  one 
else  should  place  a  white  man  here?  And  now  a  strange 
ship  comes,  and  the  men  of  Pingelap  have  turned  their 
faces  from  me?" 

A  scene  of  wild  excitement  followed,  the  greater  number 
crowding  round  the  Captain,  while  with  outstretched  liands 
and  bent  heads  tliey  signified  respect. 


CAPTAIN   BEN   PEESE  67 

The  two  teachers  were  walking  quickly  away  with  their 
wives,  when  the  Captain  called  them  back,  and  in  a  pleasant 
voice  invited  them  to  come  on  board  and  see  if  there  was 
anything  there  that  they  would  like  their  wives  to  have  for 
a  present. 

Before  returning  on  board  Sunday  told  the  Captain  that 
the  chiefs  and  people  desired  to  express  their  sorrow  at 
receiving  the  missionaries,  and  that  they  would  be  glad  if 
he  took  them  away.  Since  the  visit  of  the  Morning  Star 
an  epidemic  had  broken  out  resembling  measles,  whicli  had 
already  carried  off  fifty  or  sixty  of  them.  Already  their 
superstitious  fears  led  them  to  regard  the  sickness  as  a 
punishment  for  having  broken  their  treaty  with  Hayston. 
So  they  offered  us  six  young  women  as  a  present;  also 
ten  large  turtles,  and  humbly  begged  him  to  allow  his 
trader  to  remain. 

The  Captain  made  answer  that  he  did  not  want  six  young 
women  —  there  were  plenty  on  board  already ;  but  he  would 
take  two,  with  the  ten  turtles,  and  ten  thousand  cocoa-nuts. 
The  said  presents  were  then  cheerfully  handed  over;  the 
two  girls  and  the  turtles  going  off  in  the  Captain's  boat, 
while  the  cocoa-nuts  were  formed  into  a  raft  and  floated 
alongside  the  ship. 

While  these  weighty  matters  were  being  arranged  I 
walked  round  to  the  weather  side  of  the  island  with  Sun- 
day, who  wanted  to  show  me  a  pool  in  which  the  natives 
kept  some  captive  turtle.  On  our  way  we  came  across  some 
young  boys  and  girls  catching  fish  with  a  seine.  They 
brought  us  some  and  lit  a  fire.  We  stayed  about  an  hour 
with  them,  having  great  fun  bathing  in  the  surf. 

Happening  to  look  out  to  sea,  I  saw  a  big  ship  coming 
round  the  point  under  easy  sail ;  from  her  rig  and  the  num- 
ber of  boats  she  carried  I  knew  her  at  once  to  be  a  whaler. 
We  ran  ashore  and  dressed,  and  as  two  of  the  children 
offered  to  show  us  a  short  cut  through  the  forest  to  the  vil- 


68  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

lage,  we  ran  all  the  way  and  got  opposite  the  brig  just  in 
time  to  see  the  Captain  leaving  her  side  to  board  the  whaler. 
I  hailed  the  brig,  and  they  sent  me  the  dingey,  in  which  I 
followed  Hayston.  She  proved  to  be  the  Josephine,  just  out 
from  Honolulu  —  a  clean  ship,  not  having  taken  a  fish. 
The  captain  was  a  queer-looking  old  fellow  dressed  like  a 
fisherman.  He  received  us  with  civility,  yet  looked  at  the 
Captain  curiously.  His  crew  were  all  under  arms.  Each 
man  had  a  musket,  a  lance,  or  a  whaling  spade  —  these  two 
last  very  formidable  weapons  —  in  his  hand. 

Captain  Long  was  candid,  and  admitted  that  as  soon  as 
he  sighted  our  brig  he  had  armed  his  men,  for  the  wind 
was  so  light  that  he  would  have  no  chance  of  getting  away. 
Hayston  laughingly  asked  him  if  he  thought  the  brig  was  a 
pirate. 

The  whaler  replied,  "Why,  certainly.  Old  Morland  and 
Captain  Melton  told  me  two  years  ago  that  you  sailed  a 
brig  with  a  crew  of  darned  cut -throat  niggers,  and  would 
take  a  ship  if  you  wanted  her,  so  I  made  up  my  mind  to 
have  a  bit  of  shootin'  if  you  boarded  us." 

"Well,  Captain  Long,"  said  Hayston,  in  his  easy,  pleas- 
ant way,  "  come  over  to  my  little  vessel  and  see  the  pirate 
at  home." 

The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  as  we  pulled  over  amica- 
bly, the  skipper  cast  an  admiring  glance  at  the  graceful 
Leonora  as  she  floated  o'er  the  still,  untroubled  deep.  As 
we  stepped  over  the  ship's  side  we  were  met  by  Bill  Hicks, 
the  second  mate,  whose  savage  countenance  was  illumined 
by  a  broad  smile  as  he  silently  pointed  to  the  queer  enter- 
tainment before  us. 

"Great  ancestral  ghosts!  d'ye  carry  a  troupe  of  ackeri- 
bats  aboard  this  hyar  brig?"  quoth  the  skipper,  pointing 
to  four  undraped  figures  capering  about  in  the  mad  aban- 
donment of  a  Hawaiian  national  dance. 

The  mate  explained  briefly  that  he  had  given  the  native 


CAPTAIN   BEN   PEESE  69 

teachers  grog,  after  which  nothing  woukl  satisfy  them  but 
to  show  the  crew  how  they  used  to  dance  in  Lakaina  in 
the  good  old  days.  Their  wives  were  also  exhilarated,  and 
having  thrown  off  their  European  clothes,  were  dancing  with 
more  vigour  than  decorum  to  the  music  of  an  accordion  and 
a  violin.  The  Hope  Island  girl,  Nellie,  was  seated  in  a 
boat  we  carried  on  deck  playing  the  accordion,  and 
with  her  were  the  rest  of  the  girls  laughing  and  clapping 
their  hands  at  the  antics  of  the  dancers.  The  stalwart 
Portuguese,  Antonio,  was  perched  on  the  water-tank 
with  his  fiddle,  and  the  rest  of  the  crew  who  were  not 
at  work  getting  the  cocoa-nuts  on  board  were  standing 
around  encouraging  the  quartette  by  shouts  and  admiring 
remarks. 

As  the  whaling  skipper  gazed  with  astonishment  at  the 
sight,  Hayston  said,  "  Ay,  there  you  see  the  Honolulu 
native  teacher  in  his  true  colours.  His  Christianity  is  like 
ours  —  no  better,  no  worse  —  to  be  put  on  and  off  like  a 
garment.  Once  give  a  Sandwich  Island  missionary  a  taste 
of  grog  and  his  true  instincts  appear  in  spite  of  himself. 
There  is  nothing  either  of  those  men  would  not  do  now  for  a 
dollar;  and  yet  in  a  day  or  two  they  will  put  on  their  white 
shirts,  and  begin  to  preach  again  to  these  natives  who  are 
better  men  than  themselves." 


We  went  below,  and  after  a  glass  of  wine  or  two  the 
skipper  was  about  to  leave,  after  promising  to  sell  us  some 
bolts  of  canvas,  when  the  Chinese  steward  announced  that 
they  were  fighting  on  deck.  We  ran  up  and  saw  Antonio 
and  boy  George  struggling  with  knives  in  their  hands. 
The  Captain  caught  Antonio  a  crack  on  the  head,  which 
sent  him  down  very  decisively,  and  then  pitched  George 
roughly  into  the  boat  with  the  girls,  telling  them  to  stop 
their  infernal  din.     The  two  teachers'   wives  were   then 


70  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

placed  in  old  Mary's  care  below,  and  told  to  lie  down  and 

sleep. 

********* 

The  two  Pingelap  girls  who  came  on  board  were  very 
young,  and  seemed  frightened  at  their  surroundings,  wail- 
ing and  moaning  with  fear,  so  Hayston  gave  them  trinkets 
and  sent  them  back  to  tlie  chiefs,  getting  two  immense 
turtles  in  exchange. 

The  wind  now  died  away.  All  night  the  brig  lay  drift- 
ing on  the  glassy  sea.  At  breakfast-time  we  were  almost 
alongside  of  the  whaler,  and  the  two  crews  were  exchang- 
ing sailors'  courtesies  when  five  or  six  whales  hove  in  sight. 

All  was  changed  in  a  moment.  Four  boats  were  lowered 
as  if  by  magic  from  the  whaler,  and  the  crews  were  pulling 
like  demons  for  the  huge  prizes. 

The  whales  were  travelling  as  quickly  as  the  boats,  but 
towards  the  ships,  and  in  another  quarter  of  an  hour  three 
of  the  boats  got  fast,  the  fourth  boat  also,  but  had  to  cut 
away  again. 

Our  crew  cheered  the  boats,  and  as  there  was  no  wind  for 
the  vessel  to  work  up  to  the  dead  whales  which  were  being 
towed  up,  I  took  the  brig's  longboat  and  six  men  to  help 
the  boats  to  get  the  whales  alongside. 

A  breeze  sprung  up  at  noon,  so  after  bidding  good-bye  to 
the  whaler,  we  stood  away  for  Ponap6,  making  W.N.W. 
We  were  ten  days  out  from  Pingelap  before  we  sighted 
Ponape's  cloud-capped  peaks.  The  wind  was  very  light  for 
the  whole  way,  the  brig  having  barely  steerage  way  on  her. 
Hayston  was  anxious  to  reach  the  island,  for  there  he  ex- 
pected to  meet  his  partner,  the  notorious  Captain  Ben 
Peese. 

Here  he  told  me  that  if  things  went  well  with  them  they 
would  make  a  fortune  in  a  few  years ;  that  he  had  bought 
Peese's  schooner  and  sent  him  to  Hong  Kong  with  a-  load 
of  oil  to  sell,  arranging  to  meet  him  in  Jakoits  harbour  in 


CAPTAIN   BEN   PEESE  71 

Ponapc  on  a  day  named.  They  were  then  to  proceed  to 
Providence  Island,  which  was  a  dense  grove  of  cocoa-nnt 
trees.  He  was  sangnine  of  filling  two  hundred  and  fifty 
casks  now  in  the  brig's  hold  with  oil  when  we  reached 
there. 

Twenty  miles  from  shore  we  spoke  an  American  whale- 
ship  from  New  London.  She  was  "trying  out,"  and  sig- 
nalled to  send  a  boat.  The  Captain,  taking  me  with  him, 
went  on  board,  when  we  were  met  by  a  pleasant,  white- 
haired  old  man,  Captain  Allan. 

His  first  words  were,  "Well,  Captain  Hayston,  I  have 
bad  news.  Peese  has  turned  against  ypu.  He  returned  to 
Ponap6  from  China  a  week  ago,  and  cleared  out  your  two 
stations  of  everything  of  value.  He  had  a  big  schooner 
called  the  Vittoria,  and  after  gutting  the  stations,  he  told 
the  chiefs  at  Kiti  harbour  that  you  had  sent  him  for  the 
cattle  running  there.  He  took  them  all  away  —  thirty-six 
head." 

The  Captain  said  nothing.  Turning  away  he  looked  at 
the  brig,  as  if  in  thought,  then  asked  Allan  if  he  knew 
where  Peese  had  gone. 

"To  Manila;  Peese  has  made  friends  there,  and  engaged 
with  the  Governor-General  of  the  Philippines  to  supply 
the  garrison  with  forty  head  of  cattle.  I  knew  the  cattle 
were  yours,  and  warned  the  chiefs  not  to  let  Peese  take 
them  away.  But  he  threatened  them  with  a  visit  from  a 
Spanish  man-of-war,  and  Miller  backed  him  up.  He  had  a 
strong  party  with  him  to  enforce  his  demands." 

"  Thank  you,  Allan !  "  Hayston  said  very  deliberately 
and  calmly ;  "  I  was  half  afraid  something  like  this  would 
happen,  but  I  thought  the  man  I  took  out  of  the  slums  of 
Shanghai  and  helped  like  a  brother  was  the  last  person  to 
have  robbed  me.  It  has  shown  me  the  folly  of  trusting 
any  one.     You  are  busy,  Allan!  so  will  leave  you." 

Bidding  adieu  to  the  good  skipper  we  stepped  into  our 


72  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

boat.  Hayston  was  silent  for  ten  minutes.  Then  he  put 
his  hand  on  my  knee,  and  looking  into  my  face  with  the 
expression  I  had  never  seen  him  wear  since  he  fought  the 
trader  at  Drummond  Island,  said,  "Hilary!  did  you  ever 
know  me  to  say  I  would  do  a  tiling  and  not  do  it?" 

"No!  but  I  have  often  wished  you  would  not  keep  your 
word  so  strictly.     Some  day  you  will  regret  it." 

"  Perhaps  so.  But  listen  to  me.  This  man  —  this  Peese 
—  I  found  in  Shanghai  years  ago,  ill  and  starving.  There 
was  something  in  his  face  which  roused  my  interest ;  I  took 
him  on  board  my  vessel  and  treated  him  as  a  brother.  I 
was  then  high  in  favour  with  the  Chinese  authorities.  Not 
as  I  am  now  —  hunted  from  port  to  port  —  forced  to  take 
up  this  island  life  and  associate  with  ruffians  who  would 
shoot  and  rob  me  if  they  did  not  fear  me.  I  went  to  a 
mandarin  —  a  man  who  knew  the  stuff  I  was  made  of,  and 
what  I  had  done  in  the  Chinese  service  —  and  asked  for 
preferment  for  Peese.  It  was  done.  In  a  week  he  was 
put  in  command  of  a  transport,  and  with  his  commission 
in  his  hand  he  came  aboard  my  ship  and  swore  he  would 
never  forget  who  it  was  that  had  saved  him.  He  spoke 
but  the  bare  truth,  for  I  tell  you  this  man  was  dying  — 
dying  of  starvation.  Well!  it  was  he  who  led  me  after- 
wards, by  his  insidious  advice  and  by  collusion  with  Portu- 
guese collie  merchants,  into  risky  dealings.  At  first  all 
went  well.  We  so  used  our  positions  in  the  Imperial  ser- 
vice that  we  made  over  fifteen  thousand  dollars  in  three 
months,  exclusive  of  the  money  used  in  bribing  Chinese 
officials.  The  end  came  by  and  by,  when  I  nearly  lost  my 
head  in  rescuing  Peese  from  a  gunboat  in  which  he  lay  a 
prisoner.  Anyhow  I  lost  my  rank,  and  the  Viceroy  issued 
a  proclamation  in  the  usual  flowing  language,  depriving  me 
of  all  honours  previously  conferred.  We  escaped,  it  is 
true,  but  China  was  closed  to  me  for  ever.  Since  then  I 
have  stood  to  Peese  faithfully.     Now,  you  see  the  result. 


CAPTAIN   BEN    PEESE  73 

He  is  a  d — d  clever  fellow,  and  a  good  sailor,  no  doubt 
of  that.  But  mind  me  when  T  say  that  I'll  find  him,  if  1 
beggar  myself  to  do  it.     And  when  I  find  him,  he  dies !  " 

I  said  nothing.  He  could  not  well  let  such  treachery 
and  ingratitude  pass,  and  Peese  would  deserve  his  fate. 
However,  they  never  met.  Peese,  like  Hayston,  appeared 
to  have  his  hand  against  every  man,  as  every  man  had  his 
hand  against  Peese. 

He  met  his  fate  after  this  fashion :  — 

A  daring  act  of  piracy  —  seizing  a  Spanish  revenue  ves- 
sel under  the  very  guns  of  a  fort  —  and  working  her  out  to 
sea  with  sweeps,  outlawed  him.  Caught  at  one  of  his  old 
haunts  in  the  Pelew  Islands,  he  was  heavily  ironed  and 
put  on  board  the  cruiser  Hernandez  Pizarro,  for  conveyance 
to  Manila,  to  await  trial. 

One  day  he  begged  the  officers  of  the  corvette  to  allow 
him  on  deck  as  the  heat  was  stifling.  He  was  brought  up 
and  his  leg-irons  widened  so  that  he  could  walk.  Peese 
was  always  an  exceedingly  polite  man.  He  thanked  the 
officers  for  their  courtesy,  and  begged  for  a  cigar. 

This  was  given  him,  and  he  slowly  walked  the  decks, 
dragging  his  clanking  chains,  but  apparently  enjoying  the 
flavour  of  his  cigar.  Standing  against  a  gun,  he  took  a 
last  look  at  the  blue  cloudless  sky  above  him,  and  then 
quietly  dropped  overboard.  The  weight  of  his  irons,  of 
course,  sank  him  "  deeper  than  plummet  lies  "...  So, 
and  in  such  manner,  was  the  appropriate  and  befitting  end- 
ing of  Benjamin  Peese,  master  mariner  —  "  Requiescat  in 
pace ! " 


CHAPTER   VII 

CRUISING    AMONG    THE    CAROLINES 

Our  first  port  of  call  at  Ponape  was  Jakoits  harbour.  It 
was  here  we  were  to  land  some  Line  Islanders  we  had 
brought  from  various  places  in  the  Gilbert  group.  Hayston 
had  brought  them  to  the  order  of  the  firm  of  Johann  Guld- 
enstern  and  Sons  of  Hamburg,  whose  agents  and  managers 
at  Ponap6  were  Messrs.  Capelle  and  Milne.  Their  trading 
stations  were  at  Jakoits  Islands,  where  resided  the  manager 
of  the  business.  The  senior  partner  of  the  firm  —  a  burly, 
bullying  Scot  —  had  for  some  time  been  carrying  on  a 
rather  heated  correspondence  with  Hayston,  whom  he  had 
accused  of  kidnapping  the  firm's  traders.  He  had  not 
as  yet  encountered  the  Captain,  but  had  told  various  whal- 
ing skippers  and  others  that  if  half  a  dozen  good  men 
would  back  him  up,  he  would  seize  Hayston,  and  keep 
him  prisoner  till  H.M.  warships  Tuscarora  or  Jamestown 
turned  up. 

Occasionally  Hayston  had  by  letter  warned  him  to  be- 
ware, as  he  was  not  a  man  to  be  trifled  with.  Talk  and 
threats  are  easy  when  the  enemy  is  distant ;  so  Miller,  dur- 
ing his  cruisings  in  the  schooner  Matauta,  would  exhibit  to 
various  traders  the  particular  pistol  he  intended  to  use  on 
Hayston.  Representing  a  powerful  firm,  he  had  almost 
unlimited  influence  in  Ponap6.  Hayston  told  me  that  he 
believed  Peese  would  never  have  dared  to  have  looted  his 
trading  stations  and  taken  his  cattle  if  Miller  had  not  sided 
with  him. 

74 


CRUISING   AMONG   THE   CAROLINES  75 

"Now,"  said  the  Captain,  as  we  were  slowly  sailing  into 
Jakoits,  "I'm  in  a  bit  of  a  fix.  I  must  let  Miller  come 
aboard  and  treat  him  civilly  for  a  bit,  or  he  will  pretend 
he  knows  nothing  of  this  consignment  of  natives  I  have  for 
him.  He  lies  easily,  and  may  declare  that  he  has  received 
no  instructions  from  Kleber,  the  manager  at  Samoa,  to 
receive  these  niggers  from  me,  much  less  pay  for  them. 
But  once  I  have  the  cash  in  hand,  or  his  firm's  draft,  I 
mean  to  bring  him  up  with  a  round  turn," 

We  dropped  anchor  in  the  lovely  harbour,  almost  under- 
neath the  precipitous  Jakoits  Islands,  on  which  were  the 
trading  stations.  There  were  five  whalers  lying  at  anchor, 
having  run  in  according  to  custom  to  get  wood,  water,  and 
other  necessaries.  One  of  these  was  a  brig,  the  Barneses 
of  Honolulu.  Dismantled  and  deserted-looking  —  in  a 
little  secluded  cove  —  she  had  not  a  soul  on  board  but  the 
captain,  and  he  was  mad.     Of  him  and  his  vessel  later  on. 

A  Yankee  beach-comber  of  a  pilot,  named  Joe  Kelman, 
met  us  as  we  came  in;  not  that  his  services  were  required, 
but  evidently  for  his  own  gratification,  as  he  was  bursting 
with  news.  As  he  pulled  alongside  the  Captain  told  me 
that  he  was  a  creature  of  Miller's,  and  a  thundering  scoun- 
drel on  his  own  account  as  well.  But  he  would  settle  it 
with  him  and  his  principal  also  in  a  few  days. 

With  a  countenance  expressive  of  the  deepest  sorrow  the 
beach-comber,  as  he  sent  glass  after  glass  of  grog  down  his 
throat,  told  his  doleful  tale  —  how  Peese  had  come  with 
a  crew  of  murdering  Spaniards,  and  played  h — 1  with  the 
"Capting's"  property;  stole  every  hoof  of  his  cattle,  but 
four  which  were  now  running  at  Kiti  harbour;  how  Cap- 
ting  Miller  had  been  real  cut  up  at  seeing  Peese  acting  so 
piratical,  and  said  that  though  he  and  Captain  Hayston 
was  sorter  enemies,  he  thought  Peese  was  "  blamed  down- 
right ongrateful,"  etc. 

*' That's  all  right,  Joe,"  answered  the  Captain  with  the 


76  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

pleasantest  laugh,  "that's  only  a  stroke  of  bad  luck  for  me. 
I  bear  Captain  Miller  no  ill  will  from  the  letters  he  has 
written  me,  and  for  this  part  —  we  are  botli  hot-tempered 
men,  and  may  have  felt  ourselves  injured  by  each  other's 
acts  —  as  he  tried  to  save  my  property,  I  shall  be  glad  to 
meet  him  and  thank  him  i)ersoually." 

"Well,  that's  suthinlike,"  said  the  beach-comber,  "I'd 
be  real  sorry  to  see  two  such  fine  lookin'  men  shootin'  bul- 
lets into  each  other.  Besides,  pore  Miller's  sick.  Guess 
I'll  cut  ashore  now,  Captain.     Kin  I  take  any  message?" 

Hayston  said  he  would  give  him  a  few  lines,  and,  sitting 
down,  wrote  a  short  but  polite  note  to  Miller,  stating  that 
he  had  a  number  of  labourers  for  him,  which  he  would  be 
glad  to  have  inspected  and  landed.  He  regretted  his  ill- 
ness, but  would  come  ashore  as  soon  as  he  (Miller)  Avas  well 
enough  to  receive  him. 

The  beach-comber  took  the  letter  and  went  ashore.  Hay- 
ston turned  to  me  with  a  laugh :  "  Do  you  see  that?  The 
gin-drinking  scoundrel  is  playing  pilot-fish.  He  has  come 
to  learn  if  I  suspect  anything  of  the  game  his  master  is 
playing.  Here's  a  canoe;  you'll  see  I'll  get  the  truth  out 
of  these  natives." 

The  canoe  was  paddled  by  a  very  old  man  and  a  boy. 
There  were  also  a  lot  of  young  girls.  The  Captain  declined 
to  entertain  visitors  at  present,  there  being  too  much  work 
to  do,  and  cross-examined  the  old  man  as  to  Miller  and  his 
men.  He  said  there  were  no  white  men  now  at  Jakoits; 
furthermore,  that  when  the  Leonora  was  sighted.  Miller 
had  gone  off  to  the  four  whaleships  and  had  a  long  talk 
with  the  captains.  He  had  taken  two  guns  from  the  Sea- 
breeze, and  loaded  them  as  soon  as  he  got  ashore.  The 
natives  were  told  there  were  going  to  be  a  big  fight;  that 
Captain  Miller  had  got  sixty  natives  in  his  house,  and  the 
two  guns  placed  in  front  of  the  landing-place.  Hayston 
gave  the  old  man  a  present,  and  suggested  that  he  should 


CRUISING   AMONG   THE   CAROLINES  77 

dispose  of  his  cargo  to  one  of  the  whaleships.  The  old 
fellow  shook  his  head  sadly,  saying  he  had  come  too 
late. 

Turning  to  me,  the  Captain  said,  "There's  news  for  you; 
Miller  must  have  thought  I  meant  to  go  for  him  as  soon  as 
we  met,  and  has  his  people  ready  to  give  me  a  warm  recep- 
tion. If  I  had  not  these  Kanakas  on  board  I'd  give  him 
as  much  fighting  as  he  cares  for,  and  put  a  firestick  in  his 
station  to  finish  up  with."  A  few  minutes  later  we  saw  a 
boat  put  off  from  Jakoits  with  a  big  burly  man  sitting  in 
the  stern.  At  the  same  time  one  of  the  whalers'  boats  came 
aboard,  in  which  were  the  four  captains.  He  greeted  them 
warmly,  and  we  all  trooped  below. 

One  of  them,  a  wizened  little  man  with  a  wonderful 
vocabulary  of  curses,  said,  looking  at  the  others:  "Well, 
gentlemen,  before  we  accept  Captain  Hayston's  hospitality 
we  ought  to  tell  him  that  we  lent  Captain  Miller  two  guns 
to  sink  this  brig  with." 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Hayston,  standing  at  the  head  of  his 
table,  with  liis  hands  resting  upon  it,  "  I  know  all  about 
that,  but  you  are  none  the  less  welcome.  Miller  will  be 
here  in  a  few  minutes,  and  I  must  beg  of  you  not  to  let 
him  know  that  I  have  been  informed  of  the  warm  reception 
he  had  prepared  for  me.     Besides,  they  tell  me  he  is  ill." 

"Oh,  h — 1!  111!  That's  curious;  he  was  in  powerful 
good  health  an  hour  or  two  ago,"  and  the  skippers  looked 
at  each  other  and  winked.  Presently  we  returned  to  the 
deck,  just  as  the  bluff  personage  of  whom  we  were  talking 
clambered  up  the  ship's  side  and  came  aft. 

The  whaling  captains  and  I  watched  the  meeting  with 
intense  interest.  Miller  was  evidently  ill  at  ease,  but 
seeing  Hayston  walking  towards  him  with  outstretched 
hand  and  a  smile  on  his  face,  he  made  a  great  effort  at  self- 
command,  and  shook  hands  vigorously. 

"  Well,  we've  met  at  last,  Captain  Hayston,  and  ye  see 


78  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

I'm  no  feared  to  come  aboard  and  speak  up  till  ye  like  a 
man." 

"My  dear  sir,"  replied  Hayston,  grasping  his  hand  with 
a  prolonged  shake,  "I  was  just  telling  these  gentlemen  how 
I  regretted  to  hear  of  your  illness,  for,  although  we  have 
carried  on  such  a  paper  warfare,  I'm  convinced  that  we 
only  need  to  meet  to  become  good  friends." 

Here  one  of  the  American  captains  came  up,  and,  look- 
ing the  new-comer  straight  in  the  face,  said,  "Well,  lam 
surprised  at  meeting  you  here.  Keckon  you  can  sick  and 
well  quicker'n  any  man  I  ever  come  across." 

No  notice  was  taken  by  Miller  of  this  and  other  sarcastic 
remarks  while  he  hurried  on  his  business  with  Hayston. 
Much  grog  was  drunk,  and  then  the  Captain  passed  the 
word  for  all  hands  to  muster  on  deck  —  the  crew  to  star- 
board, the  Kanaka  passengers  on  the  port  side. 

The  "  labour  "  was  then  inspected,  and  passed  by  their 
new  proprietor,  who,  now  very  jovial  and  unsteady  on  his 
pins,  took  them  on  shore  without  delay.  He  returned 
shortly  and  paid  for  them  in  cash.  Next  morning  several 
traders  came  on  board,  and  any  amount  of  beach-combers, 
for  Ponap6  is  their  paradise.  Mr.  Miller  came  with  an 
invitation  to  visit  him  on  shore.  Having  business  to 
attend  to  I  stayed  on  board,  promising  to  follow  later  on. 
As  Hayston  was  leaving  the  brig,  Miller  said,  in  presence 
of  the  traders, — 

"Eh,  Captain  Hayston,  but  ye're  no  siccan  a  terrible 
crater  as  they  mak'  ye  oot.  Man,  I  hae  my  doots  if  ye 
could  pommel  me  so  sevairly  as  ye've  inseenuated." 

"Mr.  Miller,"  said  the  Captain,  stopping  dead,  and  tak- 
ing liim  by  the  shoulder,  "you  are  now  on  board  my  ship, 
and  I  will  say  nothing  further  than  that  if  you  have  any 
doubt  on  tlie  subject  I  am  perfectly  willing,  as  soon  as  we 
reach  your  station,  to  convince  you  that  you  are  mistaken." 

The  traders,  who  had  hitherto  backed  up  their  colleague, 


CRUISING   AMONG  THE  CAROLINES  79 

applauded  loudly,  evidently  expecting  Miller  to  take  up 
the  challenge.  He,  however,  preferred  to  treat  it  as  a  joke. 
I  knew  that  the  Captain  was  labouring  under  suppressed 
wrath  because  he  was  so  cool  and  polite.  1  knew,  by  the 
ring  in  his  voice,  that  he  meant  mischief,  and  at  any 
moment  looked  to  see  the  hot  blood  surging  to  his  brow, 
and  his  fierce  nature  assert  itself. 

About  an  hour  later  the  mate  of  one  of  the  whaleships 
came  on  board  to  have  dinner  with  me,  and  told  me  that 
Hayston  had  given  INIiller  a  terrible  thrashing  in  his  own 
house,  in  the  presence  of  his  backers  and  the  American 
captains.  It  seems  that  Hayston  led  the  conversation  up 
to  Captain  Peese's  recent  visit,  and  then  suddenly  asked 
Miller  if  he  had  not  told  the  natives  that  Captain  Peese 
must  take  the  cattle,  and  that  he  (Hayston)  dared  not  show 
up  in  Ponape  again,  or  else  he  would  long  since  have  ap- 
peared on  the  scene. 

Possibly  Miller  thought  his  only  chance  was  to  brazen  it 
out,  for,  though  he  had  a  following  of  the  lowest  roughs 
and  beach-combers,  who  "^vere  at  that  moment  loafing  about 
his  house  and  grounds,  and  Hayston  was  unarmed,  he 
could  see  by  the  coolness  of  the  American  captains  that  he 
could  not  count  on  their  support.  At  last  he  said,  with  a 
forced  laugh, — 

"Come,  let  us  have  nae  mair  fule's  talk.  We  can  be 
good  friends  pairsonally,  if  we  would  fain  cut  each  other's 
throats  in  business.  I'll  make  no  secret  of  it,  I  did  say  so, 
and  thocht  I  was  playing  a  good  joke  on  ye." 

"So  that's  your  idea  of  a  joke,  is  it,"  said  Hayston, 
grimly,  "but  now  I  must  have  mine,  and  as  it  takes  a 
surgical  operation  to  get  one  into  a  Scotchman's  brain,  I'll 
begin  at  once." 

He  gave  Miller  a  fearful  knocking  about  there  and  then. 
The  captains  picked  him  up  senseless,  with  a  head  consid- 
erably altered  for  the  worse.     After  which  Hayston  washed 


80  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

his  hands,  and  went  on  board  one  of  the  whaleships  to 
dinner. 

He  then  sent  for  the  chiefs  of  the  various  districts,  tell- 
ing them  to  meet  him  at  Miller  and  Lapelle's  station  on  a 
certain  day  and  hour.  When  they  were  all  assembled,  he 
induced  Miller  to  say  that  he  sincerely  regretted  having 
told  them  such  lies,  as  he  knew  the  cattle  did  belong  to 
Captain  Hayston.  Finally  they  shook  hands,  and  swore  to 
be  friends  in  future;  Hayston,  in  a  tone  of  solicitude, 
informing  him  that  he  would  send  him  some  arnica,  as  his 
head  appeared  very  bad  still.  The  parting  scene  must  have 
been  truly  ludicrous.  Shaking  liim  warmly  by  the  hand, 
Hayston  said,  "  Good-bye,  old  fellow;  we've  settled  our  little 
difficulty,  and  will  be  better  friends  in  future.  If  I've 
lost  cattle,  I've  gained  a  friend."  Begging  the  favour  of  a 
kiss  from  the  women  present  he  then  departed,  full  of 
honours  and  dignities;  and  in  another  hour  we  were  sail- 
ing round  the  coast  to  Metalauia  harbour. 

Here  we  bought  a  quantity  of  hawkbill  turtle  shell. 
While  it  was  being  got  on  board,  the  Captain  and  I  spent 
two  days  on  shore  exploring  the  mysterious  ruins  and 
ancient  fortifications  which  render  the  island  so  deeply 
interesting;  wonderful  in  size,  Cyclopean  in  structure. 
It  is  a  long-buried  secret  by  whom  and  for  what  purpose 
they  were  erected.  None  remain  to  tell.  "Their  memo- 
rial is  perished  with  them." 

In  one  of  the  smaller  islands  on  Avhich  those  ruins  are 
situated,  Hayston  told  me  that  a  Captain  Williams,  in 
1836,  had  found  over  £10,000  worth  of  treasure.  He  him- 
self believed  that  there  were  rich  deposits  in  other  locali- 
ties not  far  distant. 

To  this  end  we  explored  a  series  of  deathly  cold  dun- 
geons, but  found  nothing  except  a  heavy  disc  of  a  metal 
resembling  copper  several  feet  under  ground. 

This  was  lying  with  its  face  to  the   stonewall  of  the 


CRUISING    AMONG   THE   CAROLINES  81 

subterranean  clianiber  —  had  lain  there  probably  for  cen- 
turies. 

Its  weight  was  nearly  that  of  fifty  pounds.  It  had  three 
holes  in  the  centre.  We  could  form  no  idea  as  to  its  proba- 
ble use  or  meaning.  I  was  unwilling  to  part  with  it,  how- 
ever, and  taking  it  on  board,  put  it  in  my  cabin. 

While  we  were  at  Metalauia,  Joe  Keogh  came  on  board, 
bringing  with  him  three  native  girls  from  the  Andema 
group,  a  cluster  of  large  coral  islands  near  the  mainland, 
belonging  to  the  three  chiefs  of  the  Kit6  district.  He 
had  gone  forward,  when  the  Captain  saw  him  and  called 
him  aft. 

He  at  once  accused  Joe  of  being  treacherous,  telling  him 
that  the  whaling  captains  had  given  him  a  written  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  he  had  taken  a  letter  from  Miller 
to  the  Mortlock  group,  where  an  American  cruiser  was 
surveying,  asking  the  captain  if  he  would  take  Hayston  to 
California,  as  he  (Miller)  and  Keogh  would  engage  to  entice 
him  ashore  and  capture  him  if  the  cruiser  was  close  at  hand. 

Not  being  able  to  deny  the  charge,  Keogh  was  badly 
beaten,  and  sent  away  without  the  girls,  who  were  taken 
aft.  Like  the  Ponap6  natives,  they  were  very  light- 
coloured,  wearing  a  quantity  of  feather  head-dress  and  other 
native  finery.  They  agreed  to  remain  on  board  during  the 
cruise  through  the  Caroline  group,  and  were  then  to  be 
landed  at  their  own  islands. 

They  were  then  sent  to  keep  the  steward  company  in  the 
cabin,  and  put  to  making  hats  and  mats,  in  which  they 
excelled.  At  Kit6  harbour  we  took  on  board  the  bull  and 
three  cows  which  Peese  had  not  succeeded  in  catching.  On 
returning  to  Jakoits  harbour  in  a  fortnights'  time,  I  was 
told  that  I  might  take  up  my  quarters  on  shore,  while  the 
cabin  was  redecorated.  I  therefore  got  a  canoe  and  two 
natives,  with  which  I  amused  myself  with  visiting  the 
native  village  and   pigeon-shooting. 

o 


82  A   MODERN   BtJCCANEEil 

One  day  I  fell  across  a  deserted  Avhaling  brig.  Her  crew 
had  run  awa}'',  and  the  ship  having  contracted  debts,  was 
seized  by  Miller  and  Lapelle.  The  captain  alone  was  left. 
He  was  now  ship-keeper,  and  his  troubles  had  so  preyed 
on  his  mind  that  he  had  become  insane. 

I  watched  him.  It  was  a  strange  and  weird  spectacle; 
there  lay  the  vessel,  silent,  solitary  —  "a  painted  ship  upon 
a  painted  ocean." 

Her  brooding  inmate  would  sometimes  pace  the  deck  for 
hours  with  his  arms  folded;  then  would  throw  himself 
into  a  cane  lounge,  and  fixing  his  eyes  upon  the  sky,  mut- 
ter and  talk  to  himself. 

At  other  times  he  Avould  imagine  that  the  ship  was  sur- 
rounded by  whales,  and  rush  wildly  about  the  decks,  call- 
ing on  the  officers  to  lower  the  boats.  Not  succeeding,  he 
would  in  despair  peer  down  the  dark,  deserted  foc'sle,  beg- 
ging the  crew  to  be  men,  and  get  out  the  boats. 

We  cruised  now  for  some  weeks  to  and  fro  among  the 
lovely  islands  of  the  Caroline  group,  trading  in  turtle  shell, 
of  which  we  bought  great  quantities.  What  a  halcyon  time 
it  was!  There  was  a  luxurious  sense  of  dreamy  repose, 
which  seemed  unreal  from  its  very  completeness. 

The  gliding  barque,  the  summer  sea,  the  lulling  breeze, 
the  careless,  joyous  children  of  nature  among  whom  we 
lived, —  all  were  fairy-like  in  combination. 

When  one  thought  of  the  hard  and  anxioiis  toilers  of 
civilisation,  from  whom  we  had  come  out,  1  could  fancy 
that  we  had  reached  the  lotus-land  of  the  ancients,  and 
could  well  imagine  a  fixed  unwillingness  to  return  to  a  less 
idyllic  life.     Hayston  was  apparently  in  no  hurry. 

At  any  particular  island  that  pleased  him  he  would  lie  at 
anchor  for  days.  Then  we  would  explore  the  wondrous 
woods,  and  have  glorious  shooting  trips  on  shore. 

We  met  some  truly  strange  and  original  characters  in 
these  waters  —  white  men  as  well  as  natives.     The  former, 


CRtJIStNG   AMONG   THE   CAROLINES  83 

often  men  of  birth  and  culture,  were  completely  lost  to  the 
world,  to  their  former  friends  and  kinsfolk. 

Return?  not  they!  Why  should  they  go  back?  Here  they 
had  all  things  which  are  wont  to  satisfy  man  here  below. 
A  paradise  of  Eden-like  beauty,  amid  which  they  wandered 
day  by  day  all  unheeding  of  the  morrow;  food,  houses, 
honours,  wives,  friends,  kinsfolk,  all  provided  for  them  in 
unstinted  abundance,  and  certain  continuity,  by  the  guile- 
less denizens  of  these  fairy  isles  amid  this  charmed  main. 
Why  —  why,  indeed,  should  they  leave  the  land  of  magical 
delights  for  the  cold  climate  and  still  more  glacial  moral 
atmosphere  of  their  native  land,  miscalled  home? 

Then,  perhaps,  in  the  former  life  beyond  these  crystal 
seas  —  where  the  boom  of  the  surf  upon  the  reef  is  not 
heard,  and  the  whispering  palm  leaves  never  talk  at  mid- 
night —  some  imprudence,  some  mistake  at  cards  may  have 
occurred,  who  knows !     These  things  happen  so  easily. 

The  temptation  of  a  moment  —  a  lack  of  resolve  at  the 
fateful  crisis  —  and  they  are  so  deadly  difficult  of  repara- 
tion.    Difficult  —  nay  impossible. 

Where,  then,  can  mortal  find  such  an  asylum  for  weary 
body  and  restless  soul  as  this  land  of  Lethe?  Where  life  is 
one  long  dream  of  bliss,  and  where  death  comes  as  a  linger- 
ing friend  rather  than  a  swift  executioner. 

It  added  materially  to  my  enjoyment  of  the  whole  adven- 
ture, that  wherever  we  went  we  were  always  honoured 
personages,  favoured  guests.  Everywhere  the  people  had 
the  greatest  admiration  for  Hayston's  personal  qualities  — 
his  strength,  his  fearlessness,  his  prompt  determination  in 
the  face  of  danger  and  difficulty.  That  his  word  was 
invariably  law  to  them  was  fully  evident. 

One  day,  however,  as  a  kind  of  drawback  to  all  these 
satisfactions,  I  suddenly  noticed  that  the  girl  Terau,  who 
had  been  given  to  boy  George,  appeared  to  be  very  ill,  if 
not  dying.     That  young  savage  had  obtained  permission 


84  A   MODERN    BUCCANEEE 

from  the  Captain  to  keep  her  on  board,  although  she  was 
most  anxious  to  get  ashore  at  Ponape. 

She  woukl  often  get  into  one  of  the  boats  and  sit  there  all 
day  —  sad  and  silent  —  knitting  a  head-dress  from  the  fibres 
of  the  banana  plant.  Not  being  able  to  talk  to  her  myself, 
I  got  a  native  of  Ocean  Island,  whose  dialect  resembled  her 
own,  to  ask  her  if  she  was  ill. 

The  girl  made  no  answer.  She  covered  her  face  with  her 
hands.  I  then  saw  that  every  movement  of  her  body  gave 
her  pain.  At  length  she  murmured  something  to  the  Ocean 
islander,  slowly  took  from  Ler  shoulders  the  mat  which 
covered  them,  and  looking  at  me,  said,  "  Teorti  fra  mati 
Terau"  (George  has  nearly  killed  Terau).  I  was  horrified 
to  see  that  the  poor  girl's  back  was  cut  and  swelled  dread- 
fully. Her  side,  also,  she  said,  was  very  bad,  and  it  hurt 
her  to  breathe. 

We  lifted  her  carefully  out  of  the  boat,  and  carried  her 
between  us  to  the  skylight,  where  we  placed  her  in  a  com- 
fortable position. 

I  found  the  Captain  lying  down,  and  asked  him  to  come 
on  deck,  where,  lifting  the  mat  from  the  girl's  bruised 
shoulders,  I  showed  him  the  terrible  state  she  was  in. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  allow  such  brutality  to  be  practised  on 
a  poor  girl?     Why,  I  believe  she  is  dying!  " 

He  said  nothing,  except  "Come  below."  Sitting  down  at 
the  table,  he  said,  "I  will  not  punish  that  boy.  But  I 
would  be  glad  if  you  will  see  him,  and  induce  him  to  treat 
the  girl  kindly." 

I  called  George,  who  was  in  the  deck-house  playing  cards, 
and  asked  him  what  he  would  take  for  Terau. 

The  lad  thought  for  a  moment,  and  asked  me  if  the  Cap- 
tain had  told  me  to  come  to  him  about  her? 

I  said,  "Yes!  he  had."  But  that  I  wanted  him  either  to 
give  or  sell  me  the  girl,  adding  that  he  had  better  be  quick 
about  it,  as  Terau  seemed  sinking  fast. 


CRUISING    AMONG   THE   CAROLINES  85 

"  Oh !  if  that  is  so,  you  give  me  what  you  like  for  her. 
Don't  want  no  dead  girls  'bout  me." 

I  called  up  three  of  the  crew  as  witnesses,  whereupon 
George  sold  me  the  victim  of  his  brutality  for  ten  dollars 
and  a  German  concertina. 

"Now,  George,"  I  said,  "I  am  going  to  put  Terau  ashore, 
and  if  you  touch  her  again,  o^r  even  speak  to  her,  I'll  knock 
your  infernal  soul  out  of  your  black  body." 

He  grinned,  and  replied  that  he  was  only  too  glad  to  get 
rid  of  her;  and  returning  into  the  deck-house,  began  at  once 
to  play  on  the  concertina. 

A  few  days  after  this  transaction  we  touched  at  jS'gatik 
or  Los  Valientes  Island,  and  I  was  pleased  to  find  here  a 
trader  whose  wife  was  a  native  of  Pleasant  Island. 

I  asked  them  if  they  would  like  to  have  Terau  to  live 
with  them,  and  the  wife  at  once  expressed  her  willingness 
as  well  as  joy  at  seeing  one  of  her  own  countrywomen. 

Returning  on  board,  I  inquired  of  Terau  if  she  would  not 
like  to  go  ashore  and  live  with  these  people,  who  would 
treat  her  kindly.  During  my  ownership  she  had  regained 
her  strength  in  great  degree,  Nellie  having  agreed  to  attend 
on  her,  and  the  Chinese  steward  saw  that  she  had  nourishing 
food. 

She  preferred  to  go  ashore,  being  still  afraid  of  George's 
ill-treatment;  I  did  not  tell  her  of  the  trader's  wife  being 
a  countrywoman,  trusting  it  would  prove  a  joyful  surprise. 
I  was  not  mistaken.  The  two  women  rushed  into  each 
other's  arms,  and  wept  in  their  impulsive  fashion.  I  felt 
certain  that  here  poor  Terau  would  receive  kind  treatment. 

Before  returning  on  board  the  trader  told  me  that  Terau 
had  related  her  story  to  them,  and  that  the  Ngatik  Avomen, 
who  were  in  the  house,  told  her  to  make  the  white  man  who 
had  been  so  kind  to  her  "the  present  of  poverty."  This 
ceremonial  consisted  in  her  cutting  off  her  hair  close  to  the 
head,  and,  together  with  an  empty  cocoa-nut  shell  and  a 


86  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

small  fish,  offering  it  to  me.  The  trader  said  this  was  to 
express  her  gratitude  —  the  empty  sliell  and  small  fish 
signifying  poverty,  while  the  gift  of  hair  denoted  that  she 
was  a  bondswoman  to  me  for  life. 

I  felt  sorry  that  the  poor  child  should  have  cut  off  her 
beautiful  hair,  which  was  tied  round  the  centre  with  a  band 
of  pandanus  leaf,  and  put  in  my  hand ;  but  I  felt  a  glow  of 
pleasure  at  being  able  to  place  her  with  people  who  would 
be  good  to  her ;  and  thanking  her  for  the  gift,  to  which  she 
added  a  thick  plate  of  turtle  shell,  I  said  farewell,  and 
returned  to  the  brig. 

The  Captain  called  me  below,  and  shook  my  hand. 

"I'm  glad,"  he  said,  "that  poor  girl  has  left  the  ship; 
but  I  must  repay  you  the  money  you  gave  George  for  her." 

This  I  refused  to  take.  I  felt  well  repaid  by  the  unmis- 
takable gratitude  Terau  had  evinced  towards  me  from  the 
moment  the  Ocean  islander  and  I  had  carried  her  pain- 
racked  form  below. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

POISONED   ARROWS 

The  weather  had  changed,  and  been  cloudy  and  dull  for 
several  days.  We  were  all  rather  in  the  doldrums  too. 
We  had  been  bearing  eastward  on  the  line.  Suddenly  Hay- 
ston  said,  "Suppose  we  put  in  at  Santa  Cruz.  We  want 
the  water  casks  filled.  I'm  not  very  fond  of  the  island,  for 
all  its  name.  Sacred  names  and  bloodshed  often  go  together 
with  Spaniards.  However,  I  know  the  harbour  well,  and 
the  yams  are  first-rate."  So  at  daylight  we  bore  up,  at 
eight  bells  we  entered  the  heads  with  both  anchors  bent 
to  the  chains,  and  at  noon  were  beating  up  the  harbour. 
By  two  o'clock  we  cast  anchor  in  thirty  fathoms.  Out 
came  the  canoes,  and  we  soon  began  trading  with  the 
natives. 

We  kept  pretty  strict  watch,  however.  The  men,  to  my 
fancy,  had  a  sullen  expression,  and  the  women,  though  not 
bad-looking,  seemed  as  if  it  cost  them  an  effort  to  look 
pleasant. 

Our  girls  wouldn't  have  anything  to  say  to  them,  Hope 
Island  Nellie,  in  particular,  said  she'd  like  to  shoot  half  of 
them;  that  they'd  killed  a  cousin  of  hers,  who  was  only 
scratched  with  a  poisoned  arrow,  and  that  it  was  one  of  the 
Captain's  mad  tricks  to  go  there  at  all. 

However,  Hayston,  as  usual,  was  spurred  on  by  opposi- 
tion to  have  his  own  way,  and  to  do  even  more  than  he 
originally  intended.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  he  only 
wanted  to  get  some  yams  in  the  harbour,  and  that  the  water 

87 


88  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

would  have  held  out  longer  —  until  we  got  to  a  known  safe 
island. 

So  on  Sunday  we  sent  two  boats  on  shore,  and  got  the 
casks  filled  with  Avater  immediately.  Our  provisions  were 
taken  out  and  examined.  Trading  with  the  natives  went 
on  merrily. 

On  Monday  the  weather  was  fine.  We  got  a  couple  of 
rafts  out  with  water,  and  laid  in  yams  enough  to  last  for 
the  rest  of  our  cruise.  Hayston  laughed,  and  said  there 
was  nothing  like  showing  natives  that  you  were  not  afraid 
of  them.     "  Eh,  Nellie?     What  you  think  now?  " 

"Think  Captain  big  fool,"  said  Nellie,  who  was  in  a  bad 
temper  that  morning.  "Ha!  you  see  boat  crew;  by  God! 
man  wounded  —  I  see  them  carry  him  along." 

Sure  enough,  we  could  see  the  two  boats'  crews  coming 
down  to  the  beach.  They  were  carrying  one  man,  while 
two  supported  another,  who  seemed  hardly  able  to  walk. 
"Get  out  the  boats!"  roared  Hayston.  "I'll  teach  the 
scoundrels  to  touch  a  crew  of  mine." 

All  was  now  bustle  and  commotion.  Every  man  on  the 
ship  that  could  be  spared,  and  Hope  Island  Nellie  to  boot, 
who  had  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  with  the  attacking 
party,  and  whose  ruffled  temper  was  restored  to  equanimity 
by  the  chance  of  having  a  shot  at  her  foes,  and  avenging 
her  cousin's  death.  We  left  a  boat's  crew  watch,  and  made 
for  the  shore,  Nellie  sitting  in  the  bow  of  the  Captain's 
boat  with  a  Winchester  rifle  across  her  knees,  and  her  eyes 
sparkling  with  a  light  I  had  never  seen  in  a  woman's  face 
before.  It  was  the  light  of  battle  come  down  through  the 
veins  of  chiefs  and  warriors  of  her  people  for  centuries 
imcounted. 

We  left  a  couple  of  men  in  each  boat,  telling  them  to 
keep  on  and  off  until  we  returned;  the  wounded  men  were 
carefully  laid  on  mats  in  one  of  their  own  boats;  and  forth 
we  went  —  a  light-hearted  storming  party,  and  attacked  the 


POISONED   ARROWS  89 

town  of  the  treacherous  devils.  Hayston  was  in  a  frightful 
rage,  cursing  liimself  one  moment  for  relaxing  his  usual 
caution,  and  devoting  the  Santa  Cruz  natives  in  the  next 
to  all  the  fiends  of  hell  for  their  infernal  causeless  treachery. 
He  raged  up  again  and  again  to  the  cluster  of  huts,  thickly 
built  together  with  palisades  here  and  there,  which  made  ex- 
cellent cover  for  shooting  from,  backed  up  by  the  green  wall 
of  the  primeval  forest.  I  could  not  but  admire  him  as  he 
stood  there  —  grand,  colossal,  fearless,  as  though  he  bore  a 
charmed  life,  while  the  deadly  quivering  arrows  flew  thick, 
and  more  than  one  man  was  hit  severely.  Only  that  our  fire 
was  quick  and  deadly  with  the  terrible  Winchester  repeat- 
ers, and  that  the  savages  —  bold  at  first  —  were  mowed  down 
so  quickly  that  they  had  to  retreat  to  a  distance  which  ren- 
dered their  arrows  powerless,  we  should  have  had  a  muster 
roll  with  gaps  in  it  of  some  seriousness.  Hayston  was  a 
splendid  rifle  shot,  and  for  quick  loading  and  firing  had  few 
equals.  Every  native  that  showed  himself  within  range 
went  down  ere  he  could  fit  an  arrow  to  his  bowstring. 
And  there  was  Hope  Island  Xellie  by  his  side,  firing  nearly 
as  fast,  and  laughing  like  a  child  at  play  whenever  one  of 
her  shots  told. 

Then  the  arrows  grew  fewer.  Just  before  they  ceased  I 
had  fired  at  a  tall  native  who  had  been  conspicuous  through 
the  fight.  He  fell  on  his  face.  Nellie  gave  a  shout,  and 
loaded  her  own  rifle  on  the  chance  of  another  shot,  straining 
her  bright  and  eager  eyes  to  see  if  another  lurking  form 
was  near  enough  for  danger.  Well  for  me  was  it  that  she 
did  so !  Staggering  to  his  feet,  a  wounded  native  fitted  an 
arrow  to  his  bow,  and  sent  it  straight  for  my  breast  before  I 
could  raise  my  gun  to  my  shoulder.  Xellie  made  a  snap 
shot  at  him,  and,  eitlier  from  exhaustion  or  the  effect  of  her 
bullet,  he  fell  prone  and  motionless. 

I  felt  a  scratch  on  my  arm  —  bare  to  the  shoulder  —  as  if 
a  forest  twig  had  raised  the  skin.     "Look!"  said  iSTellie, 


90  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

and  her  face  changed.  As  she  spoke,  she  passed  her  finger 
over  the  place,  and  showed  it  bloodstained.  **  The  crawling 
brute's  arrow  hit  you  there.  Let  me  suck  the  poison.  If 
you  don't"  —  as  I  made  a  gesture  of  dissent  —  "you  die, 
twel'  days." 

"  Don't  be  a  fool !  "  said  Hayston.  "  You're  a  dead  man 
if  you  don't.  As  it  is,  you  must  run  your  chance.  Some 
of  these  fellows  will  lose  the  number  of  their  mess,  I'm 
sorry  to  say." 

So  the  girl,  who  had  been  but  the  moment  before  thirst- 
ing for  blood,  and  firing  into  the  mob  of  half-frightened, 
yet  ferocious  savages,  pressed  her  soft  lips  on  my  arm,  like 
a  young  mother  soothing  a  babe,  and  with  all  womanly 
tenderness  bound  up  the  injured  place,  which  had  now 
begun  to  smart,  and,  to  my  excited  imagination,  commenced 
to  throb  from  wrist  to  shoulder. 

"  Strange  child,  isn't  she?  "  laughed  Hayston.  "  If  she'd 
only  been  born  white,  and  been  to  boarding-school  down 
east,  what  a  sensation  she'd  have  created  in  a  ball-room !  " 

"Better  as  she  is,  perhaps,"  said  I.  "She  has  lived  her 
life  with  few  limitations,  and  enjoyed  most  of  it." 

The  excited  crew  rushed  in  and  finished  every  wounded 
man  in  a  position  to  show  fight.  ISTellie  did  not  join  in 
this,  but  stood  leaning  on  her  rifle  —  la  belle  sauvage,  if  ever 
there  was  one  —  brave,  beautiful,  with  a  new  expression 
like  that  of  a  roused  lioness  on  her  parted  lips  and  blazing 
eyes. 

As  for  Hayston,  he  was  a  fatalist  by  constitution  and 
theory.  "A  man  must  die  when  his  time  comes,"  he  had 
often  said  to  me.  "Until  the  hour  of  fate  he  cannot  die. 
Why,  then,  should  he  waste  his  emotions  by  giving  way  to 
the  meanest  of  all  attributes  —  personal  fear?" 

He  had  none,  at  any  rate.  He  would  have  walked  up  to 
the  block  without  haste  or  reluctance,  had  beheading  been 
the  fashionable  mode  of  execution  in  his  day,  chaffed  his 


POISONED  ARROWS  91 

executioner,  and  with  a  bow  and  a  smile  for  the  hand- 
somest Avoman  among  the  spectators,  quitted  with  easy 
grace  a  workl  which  had  afforded  him  a  fair  share  of  its 
rarest  possessions. 

By  his  order  the  town  Avas  fired  and  quickly  reduced  to 
ashes,  thus  destroying  a  number  of  articles  —  mats,  uten- 
sils, wearing  apparel,  weapons,  etc.  —  which,  requiring,  as 
they  do,  considerable  skill  and  expenditure  of  time,  are 
regarded  as  valuable  effects  by  all  savages. 

The  attack  had  been  early  in  the  day.  We  cut  down  as 
many  cocoa-nut  trees  as  we  could,  and  finally  departed  for 
the  ship,  towing  out  with  us  a  small  fleet  of  canoes,  to  be 
broken  up  when  we  got  to  the  brig.  The  sick  men  were 
sent  below,  and  such  remedies  as  we  knew  of  were  applied. 
They  were  —  all  but  one  —  silent  and  downhearted.  They 
knew  by  experience  the  sure  and  deadly  effect  of  the 
poison  manufactured  among  the  Line  Islands.  Subtle  and 
penetrating!     But  little  hope  of  recovery  remains. 

About  four  o'clock  next  morning  we  began  to  heave  at 
the  windlass,  and  got  under  weigh  at  eight.  The  wind  was 
light  and  variable,  and  our  progress  slow.  As  we  got 
abreast  of  the  hostile  village  we  gave  them  a  broadside. 
But  the  sullen  devils  of  Santa  Cruz  were  not  cowed  yet. 
A  second  fleet  of  canoes  swarmed  around  the  ship.  They 
made  signals  of  submission  and  a  desire  to  trade,  but  when 
they  got  near  enough  sent  a  cloud  of  arrows  at  the  ship, 
many  of  which  stuck  quivering  in  the  masts,  though  luckily 
no  one  was  hit.  Their  yells  and  screams  of  wrath  were  like 
the  tumult  of  a  hive  of  demons.  We  were  luckily  well 
prepared,  and  we  let  them  have  the  carronades  over  and 
over  again,  sinking  a  dozen  of  their  canoes,  and  doing  good 
execution  among  the  crews  when  their  black  heads  popped 
up  like  corks  as  they  swam  for  the  nearest  canoes.  While 
this  took  place  we  unbent  the  starboard  chain,  stowed  it 
and  the  anchor,  and  clearing  the  heads,  bade  adieu  to  the 
inhospitable  isle. 


92  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

On  the  next  day  all  hands  were  engaged  in  cleaning  our 
armoury,  which  it  certainly  appeared  necessary  to  keep  in 
good  order.  Hope  Island  Nellie  polished  her  Winchester 
rifle  till  it  shone  again,  besides  showing  an  acquaintance 
with  the  machinery  of  the  lock  and  repeating  gear  was 
nothing  new  to  her. 

"  You  ought  to  make  a  notch  in  the  stock  for  every  man 
you  kill,  Nellie,"  said  Hayston,  as  we  were  lying  on  the 
deck  in  the  afternoon,  while  the  Leonora  was  gliding  on 
her  course  like  the  fair  ocean  bird  that  she  was. 

Nellie  frowned.  "No  like  that  talk,"  she  answered. 
"  Might  have  to  put  'nother  notch  yet  for  Nellie  —  who 
knows?" 

"Who  knows,  indeed,  Nellie?"  answered  the  Captain. 
"None  of  us  can  foresee  our  fate,"  he  added  with  a  tinge 
of  sadness,  which  so  often  mingled  with  his  apparently 
most  careless  moments.  "  We  don't  even  know  who's  going 
to  die  from  those  arrow  scratches  yet." 

Here  the  girl  looked  over  at  me.  "How  you  feel, 
Hil'ree?"  she  said,  as  her  voice  softened  and  lost  its 
jesting  tone. 

"Feel  good,"  I  said,  "think  getting  better." 

"You  no  know,"  she  answered  gravely.  "You  wait." 
And  she  began  to  count.  She  went  over  the  fingers  of  her 
small,  delicately -formed  left  hand, —  wonderful  in  shape 
are  the  hands  and  feet  of  some  of  these  Island  girls, —  and 
after  counting  from  little  finger  to  thumb  twice,  touched 
the  two  first  fingers,  and  looked  up.  "How  many?"  she 
asked. 

"Twelve,"  I  said;  I  had  followed  the  counts  with  care, 
you  may  be  sure. 

"Twel'  day,  you  see,"  she  said;  "perhaps  you  all  right 
—  perhaps  "  —  and  here  she  gave  a  faint  but  accurate  limi- 
tation of  the  dreadful  shudder  which  precedes  the  unspeak- 
able agonies  of  tetanus. 


POISONED   ARROWS  93 

"Nellie  's  right,"  said  Hayston;  "keep  up  your  spirits, 
for  you  won't  know  till  then  whether  you're  to  go  to  sleep 
in  your  hammock  in  blue  water  or  not." 

This  Avas  a  cheerful  prospect,  but  I  had  come  through 
many  perils,  and  missed  the  grim  veteran  by  so  many  close 
shaves,  that  I  had  grown  to  be  something  of  a  fatalist  like 
Hayston. 

"Well!  if  I  go  under  it  won't  be  your  fault,  Nellie!  So, 
Captain,  remember  I  make  over  to  her  all  the  stuff  in  my 
trade  chest.  Send  any  letters  and  papers  to  the  address 
you  know  in  Sydney,  and  a  bank  draft  for  what  you  will 
find  in  the  dollar  bag.  Nellie  will  have  some  good  dresses 
anyhow." 

"  Dress  be  hanged !  "  quoth  Nellie,  who  was  emphatic  in 
her  language  sometimes.  "You  go  home  to  mother  yet;" 
and  she  arose  and  left  hurriedly.     Poor  Nellie ! 

In  that  day  when  we  and  others  who  have  sinned,  after 
fullest  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  "  know  the  right  and  yet 
the  wrong  pursue, "  shall  be  arraigned  for  deeds  done  in  the 
flesh,  will  the  same  doom  be  meted  out  to  this  frank,  un- 
taught child  of  Nature  and  her  sisters?  I  trow  not.  I 
must  say  that  for  a  day  or  tAvo  before  the  fated  twelfth 
which  Nellie  so  stoutly  insisted  upon,  I  felt  slightly  anx- 
ious. What  an  end  to  all  one's  hopes,  longings,  and  glori- 
ous imaginings,  to  be  racked  with  tortures  indescribable 
before  dying  like  a  poisoned  hound,  all  because  of  the 
instinctive,  senseless  act  of  a  stupid  savage ! 

To  die  young,  too,  with  the  world  but  opening  before 
me!  L'ife  with  its  thousand  possibilities  just  unrolled! 
One's  friends,  too, — the  weeping  mother  and  sisters,  whose 
grief  Avould  never  wholly  abate  this  side  of  time;  the  old 
man's  fixed  expression  of  sorrow.  These  thoughts  passed 
through  my  brain,  with  others  arising  from  and  mingled 
with  them,  as  I  left  my  hammock  early  on  the  twelfth  day. 
I  dressed  quickly,  and  going  on  deck,  that  daily  miracle 
occurred  —  "the  glorious  sun  uprist." 


94  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

The  dawnlight  now  began  to  infuse  the  pearly  rim,  which, 
imperceptibly  separating  from  the  azure  grey  horizon, 
deepened  as  it  touched  the  edge  of  the  vast  ocean  plain. 
Faintly  glimmering,  how  magically  it  transformed  from  a 
dim,  neutral-tinted  waste  to  an  opaline  clarity  of  hue  —  a 
fuller  crimson.  Then  the  wondrous  golden  globe  heaved 
itself  over  the  edge  of  our  water- world  all  silently,  and  the 
day,  the  19th  of  October,  began  its  course. 

Should  I  live  to  see  its  close? 

How  strange  if  all  this  time  the  subtle  poison  should 
have  lurked  in  one's  veins  until  the  exact  moment,  when, 
like  a  modern  engine  of  devilry  —  an  infernal  machine  with 
a  clock  and  apparatus  —  set  to  strike  and  detonate  at  a 
given  and  calculated  hour,  the  death-stroke  should  sound ! 

We  had  breakfasted,  and  were  lying  on  the  deck  chatting 
and  reading,  as  the  Leonora  glided  over  the  heaving  bosom 
of  the  main  —  the  sun  shining  —  the  seabirds  sailing 
athwart  our  course  with  outstretched,  moveless  wings  — 
the  sparkling  waters  reflecting  a  thousand  prismatic  colours, 
as  the  brig  swiftly  sped  along  her  course  —  all  nature  gaily 
bright,  joyous,  and  unheeding.  Suddenly  one  of  the 
wounded  men,  Henry  Stephens  by  name,  raised  himself 
from  his  mat  with  a  cry  so  wild  and  unearthly  that  half 
the  crew  and  people  started  to  their  feet. 

"  My  God ! "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  sank  down  again  upon 
his  mat,  "I'm  a  dead  man  —  those  infernal  arrows." 

"  Poor  Harry !  "  said  Nellie,  who  by  this  time  was  bend- 
ing over  him,  "  don't  give  in  —  by  and  by  better  —  you  get 
down  to  bunk.     Carry  him  down,  you  boys !  " 

Two  of  the  crew  lifted  the  poor  fellow,  who  even  as  they 
raised  him  had  another  fearful  paroxysm,  drawing  his 
frame  together  almost  double,  so  that  the  men  could  scarcely 
retain  their  hold. 

"  Carry  him  gently,  boys !  "  said  Hayston ;  "  go  to  the  stew- 
ard for  some  brandy  and  laudanum,  that  will  ease  the  pain." 


POISONED   AKROWS  95 

"  And  is  tliere  no  cure  —  no  means  of  stopping  this  awful 
agony?" 

''Not  when  tetanus  once  sets  in,"  said  Hayston;  "it's 
not  the  first  case  I've  seen." 

The  other  man  was  quite  a  young  fellow,  and  famed 
among  us  for  his  entire  want  of  fear  upon  each  and  every 
occasion.  He  laughed  and  joked  the  whole  time  of  the  fight 
with  the  Santa  Cruz  islanders,  said  that  every  bullet  had 
its  billet,  and  that  his  time  had  not  come.  "He  believed," 
he  said,  "  also  that  half  the  talk  about  death  by  poisoned 
arrows  was  fancy.  Men  got  nervous,  and  frightened  them- 
selves to  death. "  He  was  not  one  of  that  sort  anyhow.  He 
had  laughed  and  joked  with  both  of  us,  and  even  now,  when 
poor  Harry  Stephens  was  carried  below,  and  we  could  hear 
his  cries  as  the  increasing  torture  of  the  paroxysms  over- 
came his  courage  and  self-control,  he  joked  still. 

The  day  was  a  sad  one.  Still  the  brig  glided  on  through 
the  azure  waveless  deep  —  still  the  tropic  birds  hung 
motionless  above  us  —  still  the  breeze  whispered  through 
our  swelling  sails,  until  the  soft,  brief  twilight  of  the 
tropic  eve  stole  upon  us,  and  the  stars  trembled  one  by  one 
in  the  dusky  azure,  so  soon  to  be  "  thick  inlaid  with  patines 
of  bright  gold." 

"Reckon  I've  euchred  the  bloodthirsty  niggers  this 
time,"  said  Dick,  with  a  careless  laugh,  lighting  his  pipe 
as  he  spoke.  "This  is  'Twelfth  night.'  That's  the  end  of 
the  time  the  cussed  poison  takes  to  ripen,  isn't  it,  Nellie?" 
he  laughed.  "  It  regu.lar  puts  me  in  mind  of  old  Christmas 
days  in  England,  and  us  schoolboys  counting  the  days  after 
the  New  Year!  What  a  jolly  time  it  was!  Won't  I  be 
glad  to  see  the  snow,  and  the  bare  hedges,  and  the  holly 
berries,  and  the  village  church  again?  Dashed  if  I  don't 
stay  there  next  time  I  get  a  chance,  and  cut  this  darned 
slaving,  privateering  life.    I'll  —  oh !  my  God — ah — a — h !  " 

His  voice,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  rose  from  a  startled 


96  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

cry  to  a  long  piercing  shriek,  such  as  it  curdled  our  blood 
to  hear. 

Hayston  came  up  from  the  cabin,  followed  by  Nellie  and 
the  other  girls.  All  crowded  round  him  in  silence.  They 
knew  well  at  the  first  cry  he  was  a  doomed  man. 

"  Carry  him  down,  lads ! "  he  said,  as  he  laid  his  hand 
on  his  forehead  and  passed  it  quietly  over  his  clustering 
hair  —  "  poor  Dick !  poor  fellow !  "  At  this  moment  another 
frightful  spasm  shook  the  seaman's  frame,  and  scarcely 
could  the  men  who  had  lifted  him  from  the  deck  on  wliich 
he  had  been  lying  control  his  tortured  limbs.  As  they 
reached  the  lower  deck  another  terrible  cry  reached  our 
ears,  while  the  continuous  groaning  of  the  poor  fellow  first 
attacked  made  a  ghastly  and  awful  accompaniment  to  the 
screams  of  the  latest  victim. 

As  for  me,  I  walked  forward  and  sat  as  near  as  I  could 
get  to  the  Leonora's  bows,  where  I  lit  my  pipe  and  awaited 
the  moment  in  which  only  too  probably  my  own  summons 
would  come  in  a  like  pang  of  excruciating  agony.  The 
gleaming  phosphorescent  wavelets  of  that  calm  sea  fell  in 
broken  fire  from  the  vessel's  side,  while  the  hissing,  splash- 
ing sound  deadened  the  recurring  shrieks  of  the  doomed 
sufferers,  and  soothed  my  excited  nerves. 

Now  that  death  was  so  near,  in  such  a  truly  awful  shape, 
I  began  seriously  to  reflect  upon  the  imprudence,  nay,  more, 
the  inexcusable  folly  of  continuing  a  life  exposed  to  such 
terrible  hazards. 

If  my  life  was  spared  I  would  resolve,  like  poor  Dick, 
to  stay  at  home  in  future.  The  resolution  might  avail  me 
as  little  as  it  had  done  in  his  case. 

As  I  sat  hour  after  hour  gazing  into  the  endless  shadow 
and  gleam  of  the  great  deep,  a  strange  feeling  of  peace  and 
resignation  seemed  to  pass  suddenly  over  my  troubled 
spirit.  I  felt  almost  tempted  to  plunge  beneath  the  calm 
bosom  of  the  main,  and  so  end  for  aye  the  doubt,  the  fear, 


POISONED   ARROWS  97 

the  rapture,  and  despair  of  this  mysterious  human  life. 
All  suddenly  the  moon  rose,  sending  before  her  a  brilliant 
pathway,  adown  which,  in  my  excited  imagination,  angels 
might  glide,  bearing  messages  of  pardon  or  reprieve.  A 
distinct  sensation  of  hope  arose  in  my  mind.  A  dark  form 
glided  to  my  side,  and  seated  itself  on  the  rail. 

"You  hear  eight  bell?"  she  said.  "Listen  now,  you  all 
right  —  no  more  poison  —  he  go  away."  She  held  my  hand 
—  the  pulse  was  steady  and  regular.  In  spite  of  my  efforts 
at  calmness  and  self-control,  I  was  sensible  of  a  strange 
exaltation  of  spirit.  The  heaven  above,  the  sea  below, 
seemed  animate  with  messengers  of  pardon  and  peace. 
Even  poor  Nellie,  the  untaught  child  of  a  lonely  isle, 
"placed  far  amid  the  melancholy  main,"  seemed  trans- 
formed into  a  celestial  visitant,  and  her  large,  dark  eyes 
glowed  in  the  light  of  the  mystic  moon  rays. 

"You  well,  man  Hil'ree!"  she  said  in  the  foc'sle  ver- 
nacular. " No  more  go  mate.  Nellie  so  much  glad,"  and 
here  her  soft  low  tones  were  so  instinct  with  deepest  human 
feeling  that  I  took  her  in  my  arms  and  folded  her  in  a  warm 
embrace. 

"  How's  poor  Dick?  "  I  asked,  as  we  walked  aft  to  where 
Hayston  and  the  rest  of  the  cabin  party  were  seated. 

"  Poor  Dick  dead !  "  sKe  said ;  "  just  die  before  me  come 
lip." 

The  people  we  had  brought  for  the  big  firm,  mostly  Line 
Island  natives,  were  quiet  and  easily  controlled.  Hayston 
now  and  then  executed  orders  of  this  sort,  though  he  would 
have  scorned  the  idea  of  turning  the  Leonora  into  a  labour 
vessel.  He  was  naturally  too  humane  to  permit  any  ill- 
treatment  of  the  recruits,  and  having  his  crew  under  full 
control,  always  made  matters  as  pleasant  for  these  dark- 
skinned  "  passengers  "  as  possible. 

But  there  were  voyages  of  very  different  kind, —  voyages 
when  the  recruiting  agents  were  thoroughly  unscrupulous, 


98  A   MODEllN   BUCCANEEK 

caring  only  for  the  numbers  —  by  fair  means  or  foul  —  to 
be  made  up.  Sometimes  dark  deeds  were  done.  Blood 
was  shed  like  water;  partly  from  the  tierce,  intractable 
nature  of  the  islanders  —  sometimes  in  pure  self-defence. 
But  ''strange  things  happen  at  sea."  One  labour  cruise  of 
which  Hayston  told  me  —  he  heard  it  from  an  English 
trader  avIio  saw  the  affair  —  was  much  of  that  complexion. 
We  had  plenty  of  time  for  telling  stories  in  the  long  calm 
days  which  sometimes  ran  into  weeks.  And  this  was  one 
of  them. 

One  day  a  white  painted  schooner,  with  gaff-headed 
mainsail,  and  flying  the  German  flag,  anchored  off  Kaba- 
kada,  a  populous  village  on  the  north  coast  of  New  Britain. 
She  was  on  a  labour  cruise  for  the  German  plantations  in 
Samoa. 

Not  being  able  to  secure  her  full  complement  of  "  boys  " 
in  the  New  Hebrides  and  Solomon  groups,  she  had  come 
northward  to  fill  up  with  recruits  from  the  naked  savages 
of  the  northern  coast  of  New  Britain, 

In  those  days  the  German  flag  had  not  been  formally 
hoisted  over  New  Britain  and  New  Ireland,  and  apart  from 
the  German  trading  station  at  Matupi  in  Blanche  Bay, 
which  faces  the  scarred  and  blackened  sides  of  a  smoulder- 
ing  volcano  springing  abruptly  from  the  deep  waters  of  the 
bay,  the  trading  stations  were  few  and  far  between. 

At  Kabakada,  where  the  vessel  had  anchored,  there  were 
two  traders.  One  was  a  noisy,  vociferous  German,  who 
had  once  kept  a  liquor  saloon  in  Honolulu,  but,  moved  by 
tales  of  easily  accumulated  wealth  in  New  Britain,  he  had 
sold  his  business,  and  settled  at  his  present  location  among 
a  horde  of  the  most  treacherous  natives  in  the  South  Seas. 
His  rude  good  nature  had  been  his  safety;  for  although, 
through  ignorance  of  the  native  character,  he  was  continu- 
ally placing  his  life  in  danger,  he  was  quick  to  make 
amends,  and  being  of  a  generous  disposition  and  a  man  of 


POISONED   ARROWS  99 

means,  enjoyed  a  prestige  among  the  natives  possessed  by 
no  other  white  man. 

His  colleague  —  or  rather  his  opponent,  for  they  traded 
for  opj^osition  firms  —  was  a  small,  dark  Frenchman,  an 
ex-bugler  of  the  Chasseurs  d'Afrique,  who  had  spent  some 
years  of  enforced  retirement  at  New  Caledonia.  His  ad- 
vent to  Xew  Britain  had  been  made  in  the  most  private 
manner,  and  his  reminiscences  of  the  voyage  from  the  con- 
vict colony  with  his  four  companions  were  not  of  a  cheerful 
nature. 

Ten  miles  away,  at  the  head  of  a  narrow  bay  that  split 
the  forest-clad  mountains  like  a  Norwegian  fiord,  lived 
another  trader,  an  English  seaman.  He  had  been  on  the 
island  about  two  years,  and  was  well-nigh  sickened  of  it. 
Frequently  recurring  attacks  of  the  deadly  malarial  fever 
had  weakened  and  depressed  him,  and  he  longed  to  return 
to  the  open,  breezy  islands  of  eastern  Polynesia,  where  he 
had  no  need  to  start  from  his  sleep  at  night,  and,  rifle  in 
hand,  peer  out  into  the  darkness  at  the  slightest  noise. 


The  labour  schooner  anchored  about  a  mile  from  the 
German  trader's  house,  and  about  two  hours  afterwards  the 
boat  of  the  Englishman  was  seen  pulling  round  Cape  Luen, 
and  making  for  Charlie's  station.  This  was  because  all 
three  traders,  being  on  friendly  terms,  it  would  have  been 
considered  "  playing  it  low  down  "  for  any  one  of  them  to 
have  boarded  the  schooner  alone. 

The  day  was  swelteringly  hot,  and  the  sea  between  the 
gloomy  outlines  of  Mau  Island  and  the  long,  curving,  palm- 
shaded  beaches  of  New  Britain  shore  was  throwing  off  great 
clouds  of  hot,  steamy  mist.  As  the  Englishman's  boat  was 
about  half-way  between  the  steep- wooded  point  of  Cape 
Luen  and  Kabakada,  she  altered  her  course  and  ran  into 
the  beach,  where,  surrounded  by  a  cluster  of  native  huts, 


100  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

was  the  station  of  Pierre.  This  was  to  save  the  little 
Frenchman  the  trouble  of  launching  his  clumsy  boat. 
Pierre,  dressed  in  white  pyjamas,  with  a  heavy  Lefaucheux 
revolver  in  his  belt  and  a  Snider  rifle  in  his  hand,  came 
out  of  his  house.  Addressing  his  two  wives  in  em})hatic 
language,  and  warning  them  to  fire  off  guns  if  anything 
happened  during  his  absence  on  board  the  schooner,  he 
swaggered  down  the  beach  and  into  the  boat. 

"  How  are  you,  Pierre?  "  said  the  Englishman,  languidly. 
"  I  knew  you  and  Hans  Muller  would  expect  me  to  board 
the  schooner  with  you,  or  else  I  wouldn't  have  come.  Curse 
the  place,  the  people,  the  climate,  and  everything!  " 

The  little  Frenchman  grinned,  "Yes,  it  ees  ver'  hot;  but 
nevare  mind.  Ven  ve  get  to  de  'ouse  of  de  German  we 
shall  drink  some  gin  and  feel  bettare.  Last  veek  he  buy 
four  case  of  gin  from  a  valeship,  and  now  le  bon  Dieu  send 
this  schooner,  from  vich  we  shall  get  more." 

"  What  a  drunken  little  beast  you  are !  "  said  the  English- 
man, sourly.  "  But  after  all,  I  suppose  you  enjoy  life  more 
than  I  do.  I'd  drink  gin  like  water  if  I  thought  it  would 
kill  me  quick  enough." 

"  My  friend,  it  is  but  the  fevare  that  now  talks  in  you. 
See  me  !  I  am  happy.  I  drink,  I  smoke,  I  laugh.  I  have 
two  wife  to  make  my  cafe  and  look  aftare  my  house.  Some 
day  I  walk  in  tlie  bush,  then,  whouff,  a  spear  go  through 
me,  and  my  two  wife  will  weep  ven  they  see  me  cut  up  for 
rosbif,  and  perhaps  eat  a  piece  themselves." 

The  Englishman  laughed.  The  picture  Pierre  drew  was 
likely  to  be  a  true  one  in  one  respect.  Not  a  mile  from 
the  spot  where  the  boat  was  at  that  moment  were  the 
graves  of  a  trading  captain,  his  mate,  and  two  seamen,  who 
had  been  slaughtered  by  the  natives  under  circumstances  of 
the  most  abominable  treachery.  And  right  before  them, 
on  the  white  beach  of  Mau  Island,  a  whaler's  boat's  crew 
had  been  speared  while  filling  their  water  casks,  the  natives 


POISONED    ARROWS  101 

who  surrounded  them  appearing  to   be  animated  by  the 
greatest  friendliness. 

Such  incidents  were  common  enough  in  those  days  among 
the  islands  to  the  westward  of  New  Guinea,  and  the  people 
of  New  Britain  were  no  worse  than  those  of  other  islands. 
They  were  simply  treacherous,  cowardly  savages,  and  though 
occasionally  indulging  in  cannibalistic  feasts  upon  the 
bodies  of  people  of  their  OAvn  race,  they  never  killed  white 
men  for  that  purpose.  Many  a  white  man  has  been  speared 
or  shot  there,  but  their  bodies  were  spared  that  atrocity  — 
so  in  that  respect  Pierre  did  his  young  wives  an  injustice. 
They  would,  if  occasion  needed  it,  readily  poison  him,  or 
steal  his  cartridges  and  leave  him  to  be  slaughtered  without 
the  chance  of  making  resistance,  but  they  wouldn't  eat  him. 


"It's  the  Samoa,^'  said  the  German,  as  he  shook  hands 
with  us.  "And  the  skipper  is  a  d — d  Dutchman,  but  a 
good  sort "  (having  once  sailed  in  a  Yankee  timber  ship, 
trading  between  Sydney  and  the  Pacific  slope,  Hans  was 
now  an  American),  "and  as  soon  as  it  gets  a  bit  cool,  we'll 
go  off.     I  know  the  recruiter,  he's  a  chap  with  one  arm." 

"What?"  said  the  Englishman,  "you  don't  mean  Cap- 
tain Kyte,  do  you?  " 

"That's  the  man.  He's  a  terror.  Guldensterns  pay 
him  $200  a  month  regular  to  recruit  for  them,  and  he  gets 
a  bonus  of  $10  each  for  every  nigger  as  well.  We  must 
try  and  get  him  a  few  here  to  fill  up." 

"  You  can,"  said  the  Englishman,  "but  I  won't.  I'm  not 
going  to  tout  for  an  infernal  Dutch  black-birder." 


As  soon  as  a  breeze  set  in  the  three  traders  sailed  off. 
The  schooner  was  a  fine  lump  of  a  vessel  of  about  190  tons 
register,    and    her    decks    were    crowded    with    male    and 


102  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

female  recruits  from  the  Solomon  group.  There  were 
about  fifty  in  all  —  thirty-five  or  forty  men  and  about  a 
dozen  women. 

The  captain  of  the  schooner  and  his  "recruiter,"  Captain 
Kyte,  received  the  traders  with  great  cordiality.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  table  was  covered  with  bottles  of  beer,  kum- 
mel,  and  other  liquor,  and  Hans  was  asserting  with  great 
vehemence  his  ability  to  procure  another  thirty  "boys." 

Kyte,  a  thin  man,  with  deep-set  grey  eyes,  and  a  skin 
tanned  by  twenty  years'  wanderings  in  the  South  Seas, 
listened  quietly  to  the  trader's  vapourings,  and  then  said, 
"  All  right,  Hans !  I  think,  though,  we  can  leave  it  till  to- 
morrow, and  if  you  can  manage  to  get  me  twenty  'boys,' 
I'll  give  you  five  dollars  a  head  for  them,  cash." 

The  traders  remained  on  board  for  an  hour  or  two,  and 
in  the  meanwhile  the  captain  of  the  schooner  sent  a  boat 
ashore  to  fill  water  casks  from  the  creek  near  the  trader's 
house.  Six  natives  got  in  —  four  of  whom  were  seamen 
from  the  schooner  and  two  Solomon  Island  recruits;  these 
two  recruits  led  to  all  the  subsequent  trouble. 

Kyte  was  a  wonderfully  entertaining  man,  and  although 
his  one  arm  was  against  him  (he  had  lost  the  other  one  by 
the  bursting  of  a  shell),  he  contrived  to  shoot  very  straight, 
and  could  hold  his  own  anywhere. 

He  was  full  of  cynical  humour,  and  the  Englishman, 
though  suffering  from  latent  fever,  could  not  but  be  amused 
at  the  disrespectful  manner  in  which  the  American  spoke 
of  his  employers.  The  German  firm  which  in  a  small  way 
was  the  H.E.I.C.  of  the  Pacific;  indeed,  their  actions  in 
many  respects,  when  conducting  trading  arrangements  with 
the  island  chiefs,  were  very  similar  to  those  of  the  Great 
East  India  Company  —  they  always  had  an  armed  force  to 
back  them  up. 

"  I  should  think  you  have  natives  enough  on  board  as  it 
is.  Captain  Kyte,"  the  Englishman  was  saying,  "without 
taking  any  more." 


POISONED   ARROWS  103 

"Well,  so  I  have  in  one  way.  But  these  d — d  greedy 
Dutchmen  (looking  the  captain  and  mate  of  the  schooner 
full  in  the  face)  like  to  see  me  come  into  Apia  harbour  with 
about  180  or  200  on  board.  The  schooner  is  only  fit  to 
carry  about  ninety.  Of  course  the  more  1  have  the  more 
dollars  I  get.  But  it's  mighty  risky  work,  I  can  tell  you. 
I've  got  nearly  sixty  Solomon  boys  on  board  now,  and  I 
could  have  filled  down  there,  but  came  up  along  here  in- 
stead. You  see,  when  we've  got  two  or  three  different 
mobs  on  board  from  islands  widely  apart  they  can't  con- 
coct any  general  scheme  of  treachery,  and  I  can  always 
play  one  crowd  off  against  the  other.  Now,  these  Solomon 
Island  niggers  know  me  well,  and  they  wouldn't  try  any 
cutting  off  business  away  up  here  —  it's  too  far  from  home. 
But  I  wouldn't  trust  them  when  we  are  beating  back  through 
the  Solomons  on  our  way  to  Samoa  —  that's  the  time  I've 
got  a  pull  on  them,  by  having  New  Britain  niggers  on 
board." 

"You  don't  let  your  crew  carry  arms  on  board,  I  see," 
said  the  Englishman. 

"No,  I  don't.  There's  no  necessity  for  it,  I  reckon.  If 
we  were  anywhere  about  the  Solomon  Islands,  and  had  a 
lot  of  recruits  on  board,  I  take  d — d  good  care  that  every 
man  is  armed  then.  But  here,  in  New  Britain,  we  could 
safely  give  every  rifle  in  the  ship  to  the  'recruits'  them- 
selves, and  seeing  armed  men  about  them  always  irritates 
them.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  'boys'  now  on  board 
would  fight  like  h — 1  for  us  if  the  New  Britain  niggers 
tried  to  take  the  ship.  Some  men,  however,"  and  his  eyes 
rested  on  Pierre,  Hans,  and  the  captain,  "  like  to  carry  a 
small-arms  factory  slung  around  'em.  Have  another  drink, 
gentlemen?  Hallo,  what  the  h — 1  is  that?"  and  he  was 
off  up  on  deck,  the  other  four  white  men  after  him. 

The  watering  party  had  come  back,  but  the  two  Solomon 
islanders  (the  recruits)  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  both 


104  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

dead,  and  with  broken  spears  sticking  all  over  their  bodies. 
The  rest  of  the  crew  were  wounded  —  one  badly. 

In  two  minutes  Captain  Kyte  had  the  story.  They  were 
just  filling  the  last  cask  when  they  were  rushed,  and  the 
two  Solomon  islanders  speared  and  clubbed  to  death.  The 
rage  of  the  attackers  seemed  specially  directed  against  the 
two  recruits,  and  the  crew  —  who  were  natives  of  Likaiana 
(Stewart's  Island)  —  said  that  after  the  first  volley  of 
spears  no  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  their  escape. 

The  face  of  Captain  Kyte  had  undergone  a  curious 
change.  It  had  turned  to  a  dull  leaden  white,  and  his 
dark  grey  eyes  had  a  spark  of  fire  in  them  as  he  turned  to 
the  captain  of  the  schooner. 

"  What  business  had  you,  you  blundering,  dunder-headed, 
Dutch  swab,  to  let  two  of  my  recruits  go  ashore  in  that 
boat?  Haven't  you  got  enough  sense  to  know  that  it  was 
certain  death  for  them.  Two  of  my  best  men,  too.  Bou- 
gainville boys.      By !    you'd  better  jump  overboard. 

You're  no  more  fit  for  a  labour  schooner  than  I  am  to  teach 
dancing  in  a  ladies'  school." 

The  captain  made  no  answer.  He  was  clearly  in  fault. 
As  it  was,  no  one  of  the  boat's  crew  were  killed,  but  that 
was  merely  because  their  European  clothing  showed  them 
to  be  seamen.  The  matter  was  more  serious  for  Kyte  than 
any  one  else  on  board.  The  countrymen  of  the  murdered 
boys  looked  upon  him  as  the  man  chiefly  responsible.  He 
knew  only  one  way  of  placating  them  —  by  paying  some 
of  the  dead  boys'  relations  a  heavy  indemnity,  and  immedi- 
ately began  a  consultation  with  five  Solomon  islanders  who 
came  from  the  same  island. 

********* 

In  the  mean  time  the  three  traders  returned  to  the  shore, 
and  Hans,  with  his  usual  thick-headedness,  immediately 
''put  his  foot  in  it,"  by  demanding  a  heavy  compensation 


POISONED   ARROWS  105 

from  the  chief  of  the  village  for  the  killing  of  the  two 
men. 

The  chief  argued,  very  reasonably  from  his  point  of  view, 
that  the  matter  didn't  concern  him. 

"I  don't  care  Avhat  you  think,"  wrathfully  answered  the 
little  trader,  "  I  want  lifty  coils,  of  fifty  fathoms  each,  of 
dewarra.     If  I  don't  get  it "  —  here  he  touched  his  revolver. 

Now,  dewarra  is  the  native  money  of  New  Britain;  it  is 
formed  of  very  small  white  shells  of  the  cowrie  species, 
perforated  with  two  small  holes  at  each  end,  and  threaded 
upon  thin  strips  of  cane  or  the  stalk  of  the  cocoa-nut  leaf. 
A  coil  of  dewarras  would  be  worth  in  European  money,  or 
its  trade  equivalent,  about  fifty  dollars. 

The  chief  wasn't  long  in  giving  his  answer.  His  lips, 
stained  a  hideous  red  by  the  betel  nut  juice,  opened  in  a 
derisive  smile  and  revealed  his  blackened  teeth. 

"  He  will  fight, "  he  answered. 

"You've  done  it  now,  Hans,"  said  the  Englishman,  "you 
might  as  well  pack  up  and  clear  out  in  the  schooner.  You 
have  no  more  sense  than  a  hog.  By  the  time  I  get  back  to 
my  station  I'll  find  it  burnt  and  all  my  trade  gone.  Hoav- 
ever,  I  don't  care  much;  but  I  hope  to  see  you  get  wiped 
out  first.     You  deserve  it." 


All  that  night  the  native  village  was  in  a  state  of  turmoil, 
and  when  daylight  came  it  was  deserted  by  the  inhabitants, 
wlio  had  retreated  to  their  bush-houses ;  the  French  trader, 
who  had  walked  along  the  beach  to  his  station,  returned  at 
daylight  and  reported  that  not  a  native  was  in  his  town, 
even  his  two  wives  had  gone.  Nothing,  however,  of  his 
trade  had  been  touched. 

"  That's  a  good  sign  for  you,"  said  the  Englishman.  "  If 
I  were  you,  Pierre,  I  would  go  quietly  back,  and  start  mend- 
ing your  fence  or  painting  your  boat  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.     They  won't  meddle  with  you." 


106  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

But  this  was  strongly  objected  to  by  his  fellow-trader, 
and  just  then  a  strange  sound  reached  them, — the  Avild  cries 
and  howls  of  chorus,  in  a  tongue  unknown  to  the  three  men. 
It  came  from  the  sea,  and  going  to  the  door  they  saw  the 
schooner's  two  whaleboats,  packed  as  full  of  natives  as  they 
could  carry,  close  in  to  the  shore.  Instead  of  oars  they 
were  propelled  by  canoe  paddles,  and  at  each  stroke  the 
native  rowers  fairly  made  the  boats  leap  and  surge  like 
steam  launches  in  a  sea-way.  But  the  most  noticeable 
thing  to  the  eyes  of  the  traders  was  the  glitter  of  rifle 
barrels  that  appeared  between  the  double  row  of  paddlers. 
In  another  five  minutes  the  leading  boat  was  close  enough 
for  the  traders  to  see  that  the  paddlers  who  lined  the  gun- 
wales from  stem  to  stern  had  their  faces  daubed  with  red 
and  blue,  and  their  fighting  ornaments  on.  In  the  body  of 
the  boats,  crouching  on  their  hams,  with  elbows  on  knees, 
and  upright  rifles,  were  the  others,  packed  as  tightly  as 
sardines. 

"Mein  Gott!"  gasped  Muller,  "they  have  killed  all 
hands  on  the  schooner  and  are  coming  for  us.  Look  at  the 
rifles."  He  dashed  into  his  trade-room  and  brought  out 
about  half  a  dozen  Sniders,  and  an  Epsom  salts  box  full  of 
cartridges.     ''Come  on,  boys,  load  up  as  quick  as  you  can." 

"  You  thundering  ass, "  said  the  Englishman,  "  look  again ; 
can't  you  see  Kyte  's  in  one  boat  steering?" 

In  another  minute,  with  a  roar  from  the  excited  savages, 
the  first  boat  surged  up  on  the  beach,  and  a  huge,  light- 
skinned  savage  seized  Kyte  in  his  arms  as  if  he  were  a  child 
and  placed  him  on  the  land.  Then  every  man  leaped  out  and 
stood,  rifle  in  hand,  waiting  for  the  other  boat.  Again  the 
same  fierce  cry  as  the  second  boat  touched  the  shore ;  then 
silence,  as  they  watched  with  dilated  eyes  and  gleaming 
teeth  the  movements  of  the  white  man. 

Eor  one  moment  he  stood  facing  them  with  outstretched 
hand  uplifted  in  warning  to  check  their  eager  rush.  Then 
he  turned  to  the  traders  — 


POISONED    ARROWS  107 

"  The  devils  have  broken  loose.  Have  you  fellows  any 
of  your  own  natives  that  you  don't  want  to  get  hurt?  If 
so,  get  them  inside  the  house,  and  look  mighty  smart 
about  it." 

"There's  not  a  native  on  the  beach,"  said  the  German, 
"every  mother's  son  of  them  has  cleared  into  the  bush, 
except  this  man's  boat's  crew,"  pointing  to  the  English 
trader;  "they're  in  the  house  all  right.  But  look  out, 
Captain  Kyte,  those  fellows  in  the  bush  mean  fight.  There's 
two  thousand  people  in  this  village,  and  many  of  them  have 
rifles  —  Sniders  —  and  plenty  cartridges.  I  know,  because 
it  was  I  who  sold  them." 

Kyte  smiled  grimly.  There  Avas  a  steely  glitter  of  sup- 
pressed excitement  in  his  keen  grey  eyes.  Then  he  again 
held  up  his  hand  to  his  followers  — 

"  Blood  for  blood,  my  children.  But  heed  well  my  words 
—  kill  not  the  Avomen  and  children ;  now,  go  !  " 

Like  bloodhounds  slipped  from  the  leash,  the  brown 
bodies  and  gleaming  rifle  barrels  went  by  the  white  men 
in  one  wild  rush,  and  passed  away  out  of  sight  into  the 
comparatively  open  forest  that  touched  the  edge  of  the 
trader's  clearing. 


"There  they  go,"  said  Kyte  quietly,  as  he  sat  down  on  the 
edge  of  the  trader's  verandah  and  lit  a  cigar,  "and  they'll 
give  those  smart  niggers  of  yours  a  dressing  down  that  will 
keep  them  quiet  for  the  next  five  years  (he  was  right,  they 
did).  Well,  I  had  to  let  them  have  their  own  way.  They 
told  me  that  if  I  didn't  let  them  have  revenge  for  the  two 
men  that  I  would  be  unlucky  before  I  got  to  Samoa, —  a 
polite  way.  of  saying  that  they  would  seize  the  schooner  and 
cut  our  throats  on  the  way  up.  So  to  save  unpleasantness, 
I  gave  each  man  a  Snider  and  twenty-five  cartridges,  and 
told  them  to  shoot  as  many  pigs  and  foivls  as  they  liked. 


108  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

You  should  have  heard  the  beggars  laugh.  By  the  way,  I 
hope  they  do  shoot  some,  we  want  pork  badly." 

"Hallo,  they've  got  to  Tubarigan's,  the  chief's  bush- 
house,  and  fired  it !  "  said  Muller. 

A  column  of  black  smoke  arose  from  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  and  in  another  second  or  two  loud  yells  and  cries 
of  defiance  mingled  with  the  thundering  reports  of  the 
Sniders  and  the  crackling  of  the  flames. 

The  little  Frenchman  and  Muller  played  nervously  with 
their  rifles  for  a  moment  or  two ;  then  meeting  the  answer- 
ing look  in  each  other's  eyes,  they  dashed  into  the  trees  and 
up  the  jungle-clad  mountain  side  in  the  direction  of  the 
smoke  and  fighting. 


The  native  houses  in  New  Britain  are  built  of  cane,  neatly 
lashed  together  with  coir  cinnet,  and  the  roofs  thatched  with 
broad-leaved  grass  or  sugar-cane  leaves.  They  burn  well, 
and  as  the  cane  swells  to  the  heat  each  joint  bursts  with  a 
crack  like  a  pistol  shot. 

"Look  now,"  said  Kyte  to  his  companion,  pointing  along 
the  tops  of  the  hills.  Clouds  of  black  smoke  and  sheets  of 
flame  were  everywhere  visible,  and  amidst  the  continuous 
roar  of  the  flames,  the  crackling  of  the  burning  cane-work 
of  the  native  houses,  and  the  incessant  reports  of  the 
Sniders,  came  savage  shouts  and  yells  from  the  raiders,  and 
answering  cries  of  defiance  from  the  New  Britain  men,  who 
retreated  slowly  to  the  grassy  hills  of  the  interior,  whence 
they  watched  the  total  destruction  of  some  four  or  five  of 
their  villages.  These  bush-houses  are  constructed  with 
great  care  and  skill  by  the  natives,  and  are  generally  only 
a  short  distance  from  the  main  village  on  the  beach ;  every 
bush-house  stands  surrounded  by  a  growth  of  carefully- 
tended  crotons  of  extraordinary  beauty  and  great  variety  of 
colour,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  is  the  owner's  planta- 
tion of  yams,  taro,  sugar-cane,  bananas,  and  betel  nuts. 


POISONED   ARROWS  109 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two  the  Solomon  islanders 
ceased  firing,  and  then  the  two  white  men,  looking  out  on 
the  beach,  saw  a  number  of  the  beaten  villagers  fleeing 
down  to  the  shore,  aboiit  half  a  mile  away,  and  endeavour- 
ing to  launch  canoes. 

"  By ! "  exclaimed  Kyte,  "  my  fellows  have  out- 
flanked them,  and  are  driving  them  down  to  the  beach.  I 
might  get  some  after  all  for  the  schooner.  AVill  you  lend 
me  your  boat's  crew  to  head  them  off?  They  are  going  to 
try  and  get  to  Mau  Island." 

"  No, "  said  the  Englishman,  *'  I  won't.  If  Pierre  and  the 
German  are  such  idiots  as  to  go  shooting  niggers  in  another 
man's  quarrel,  that's  no  reason  why  I  should  take  a  hand 
in  it." 

Kyte  nodded  good-humouredly,  and  seemed  to  abandon 
the  idea;  but  he  went  into  the  house  after  a  while,  and 
came  out  again  with  a  long  Snider  in  his  hand. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  Solomon  islanders  began  to  return 
in  parties  of  two  or  three,  then  came  the  two  white  men, 
excited  and  panting  with  the  lust  of  killing. 

Kyte  held  a  whispered  consultation  with  one  of  his 
"boys,"  —  a  huge  fellow,  whose  body  was  reeking  with  per- 
spiration and  blood  from  the  scratches  received  in  the 
thorny  depths  of  the  jungle, —  and  then  pointed  to  the 
beach  where  four  or  five  white-painted  canoes  had  been 
launched,  and  were  making  for  an  opening  in  the  reef.  To 
reach  this  opening  they  would  have  to  pass  in  front  of  the 
trader's  house,  for  which  they  now  headed. 

Kyte  waited  a  moment  or  two  till  the  leading  canoe  was 
within  four  or  five  hundred  yards,  then  he  raised  his  rifle, 
and  placing  it  across  the  stump  of  his  left  arm,  fired.  The 
ball  plumped  directly  amidships,  and  two  of  the  paddlers 
fell.  The  rest  threw  away  their  paddles  and  spears,  and 
swam  to  the  other  canoes. 

"Now  we've  got  them,"    said  Kyte,  and  taking  about 


110  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

twenty  of  his  boys,  he  manned  his  two  boats  and  pulled 
out,  intercepting  the  canoes  before  they  could  get  through 
the  reef  into  the  open. 

Then  commenced  an  exciting  chase.  The  refugees  swam 
and  dived  about  in  the  shallow  water  like  frightened  fish, 
but  their  pursuers  were  better  men  at  that  game  than  they, 
and  of  superior  physique.  In  twenty  minutes  they  were  all 
captured,  except  one,  who  sprang  over  the  edge  of  the  reef 
into  deep  water  and  was  shot  swimming. 


There  were  about  five-and-twenty  prisoners,  and  when 
they  were  brought  back  in  the  boats  and  taken  on  board  the 
schooner  it  was  found  that  the  chief  was  among  them.  It 
may  have  occurred  to  him  in  the  plantation  life  of  the  after 
time  that  he  had  better  have  stayed  quiet.  The  English- 
man, disgusted  with  the  whole  affair,  went  off  with  the 
other  white  men,  leaving  his  boat's  crew  for  safety  in  the 
trader's  house,  for  had  the  Solomon  islanders  seen  them 
they  would  have  made  quick  work  of  them,  or  else  Kyte,  to 
save  their  lives,  would  have  offered  to  take  them  as  recruits. 

The  two  other  traders  decided  to  leave  in  the  schooner. 
They  had  made  the  locality  too  warm  for  themselves,  and 
urged  the  Englishman  to  follow  their  example. 

"No,"  he  said,  "I've  been  a  good  while  here  now,  and 
I've  never  shot  a  nigger  yet  for  the  fun  of  the  thing.  I'll 
take  my  chance  with  them  for  a  bit  longer.  The  chances 
are  you  fellows  will  get  your  throats  cut  before  I  do." 


However,  the  schooner  arrived  safely  at  Samoa  with  her 
live  cargo,  but  Kyte  reported  to  his  owners  that  it  would 
not  be  advisable  to  recruit  in  New  Britain  for  a  year  or  two. 


CHAPTER   IX 


HALCYON    DAYS 


We  were  now  bound  for  Arrecifos  Island,  Hayston's 
central  station,  but  had  first  to  call  at  Pingelap  and  Strong's 
Island,  where  we  were  to  land  our  cattle  and  ship  a  few 
tuns  of  oil. 

Nine  days  after  leaving  Ponape,  as  the  sun  broke  through 
the  tropic  haze,  the  lookout  reported  smoke  in  sight.  The 
Captain  and  I  at  once  went  aloft,  and  with  our  glasses  made 
out  a  steamer  a  long  distance  off. 

Hayston  said  he  thought  it  was  the  Resacca,  an  American 
cruiser.  Possibly  she  might  overhaul  us  and  take  us  into 
Ponap^.  Unless  the  breeze  freshened  we  could  not  get 
away  from  her. 

We  were  heading  N.N.E.  close  hauled,  and  the  steamer 
appeared  to  be  making  for  Ponape.  She  was  sure  to  see  us 
within  an  hour  luiless  she  changed  her  course. 

The  Leonora  was  kept  away  a  couple  of  points,  but  the 
wind  was  light,  and  we  were  only  travelling  about  four 
knots. 

At  breakfast  time  we  could  see  the  man-of-war's  spars 
from  the  deck,  and  the  breeze  was  dying  away.  The  Captain 
and  I  went  on  the  foreyard  and  watched  her. 

She  had  not  as  yet  changed  her  course,  but  apparently 
did  not  seem  anxious  to  overtake  us. 

At  length  Hayston  said  with  a  laugh,  as  he  took  a  long 
look  at  her,  "  All  right,  keep  full,  and  by  (to  the  man  at  the 

wheel)  ,  brace  up  the  yards  again,  she  doesn't  want  to 

111 


112  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

stop  us.  It's  that  old  Spanish  gunboat  from  Manila,  a 
'  side  wheeler.'  I  was  told  she  was  coming  down  to  Ponape 
from  Guam  to  look  after  some  escaped  Tagalau  prisoners. 
She'd  never  catch  us  if  she  wanted  to  with  anything  like  a 
breeze." 

That  night  the  Captain  seemed  greatly  relieved.  He  told 
me  that  it  would  prove  a  bad  business  for  him  if  an  Ameri- 
can cruiser  took  him ;  and  although  he  did  not  anticipate 
meeting  with  one  in  these  parts,  he  gave  me  full  instruc- 
tions how  to  act  in  the  event  of  his  seizure.  He  placed  in 
my  charge  two  bags  of  gold  coin  of  two  thousand  dollars 
each,  and  a  draft  for  a  thousand  dollars  on  Goddefroys'  in 
Samoa. 

After  which  he  declared  that  the  ship  was  getting  dull 
lately,  and  ordered  the  steward's  boy  to  beat  the  gong  and 
call  out  the  girls  for  a  dance. 

For  the  next  hour  or  two  wild  merriment  prevailed.  An- 
tonio, the  Portuguese,  with  his  violin,  and  the  Captain  with 
his  flute,  furnished  the  music,  while  half  a  dozen  of  the 
girls  were  soon  dancing  with  some  of  the  picturesque  ruf- 
fians of  the  foc'sle. 

For  days  and  days  we  had  scarcely  shifted  tack  or  sheet, 
so  gentle  and  steady  was  the  wind  that  filled  our  sails ;  but 
the  easterly  equatorial  counter  current  that  prevails  in  these 
calm  seas  was  sweeping  us  steadily  on  towards  Strong's 
Island  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  knots  an  hour. 

On  some  days  we  would  lower  a  floating  target  and  prac- 
tise with  the  long  gun  carried  amidships,  on  others  the  Cap- 
tain and  I  would  pass  away  an  hour  or  two  shooting  at 
bottles  with  our  rifles  or  revolvers. 

Hayston  was  a  splendid  shot,  and  loud  were  the  exclama- 
tions from  the  crew  when  he  made  an  especially  clever 
shot ;  at  other  times  he  would  sit  on  the  skylight,  and  with 
the  girls  around  him,  sewing  or  card-playing,  tell  me  anec- 
dotes of  his  career  when  in  the  service  of  the  Chinese  Gov- 
ernment. 


HALCYON   DAYS  113 

There  were  on  board  two  children,  a  boy  and  girl  —  Toby 
and  Kitty  —  natives  of  Arurai  or  Hope  Island.  They  were 
the  Captain's  particular  pets,  in  right  of  which  he  allowed 
thein  full  liberty  to  tease  any  one  on  the  ship. 

He  was  strongly  attached  to  these  children,  and  often 
told  me  that  he  intended  to  provide  for  them. 

Their  father,  who  was  one  of  his  boat's  crew,  had  fallen 
at  his  side  when  the  natives  of  the  island  had  boarded  the 
vessel.  On  his  next  cruise  he  called  at  Arurai  and  took 
them  on  board,  the  head  chief  freely  giving  his  permission 
to  adopt  them.  I  mention  this  boy  and  girl  more  partic- 
ularly, because  the  American  missionaries  had  often  stated 
in  the  Honolulu  journals  "that  Hayston  had  kidnapped 
them  after  having  killed  their  father." 

His  story  was  that  on  his  first  visit  to  the  Pelew  Islands 
with  Captain  Peese,  the  vessel  they  owned,  a  small  brigan- 
tine,  was  attacked  by  the  natives  in  the  most  daring  manner, 
although  the  boarding  nettings  were  up  and  every  prepara- 
tion made  to  repel  them. 

He  had  with  him  ten  seamen  —  mostly  Japanese.  Cap- 
tain Peese  was  acting  as  first  mate.  An  intelligent  writer 
has  described  these  Pelew  islanders,  the  countrymen  of  the 
young  Prince  Lee  Boo,  whose  death  in  England  caused 
genuine  sorrow,  as  "delicate  in  their  sentiments,  friendly 
in  their  disposition,  and,  in  short,  a  people  that  do  honour 
to  the  human  race." 

The  Captain's  description  of  the  undaunted  manner  in 
which  fifty  of  these  noble  islanders  climbed  up  the  side  of 
the  brigantine,  and  slashed  away  at  the  nettings  with  their 
heavy  swords,  was  truly  graphic.  Stripped  to  the  waist 
they  fought  gallantly  and  unflinchingly,  though  twelve  of 
their  number  had  been  killed  by  the  fire  of  musketry  from 
the  brigantine.  One  of  them  had  seized  Captain  Peese  by 
his  beard,  and,  dragging  him  to  the  side,  stabbed  him  in  the 
neck,  and  threw  him  into  the  prahu  alongside,  where  his 


114  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

head  would  have  soon  left  his  body,  when  Hayston  and  a 
Japanese  sailor  dashed  over  after  him,  and  killed  the  two 
natives  that  were  holding  him  down,  while  another  was 
about  to  decapitate  him.  At  this  stage  three  of  the  brig- 
antine's  crew  lay  dead  and  nearly  all  were  wounded,  Hay- 
ston having  a  fearful  slash  on  the  thigh. 

There  were  seventeen  islanders  killed  and  many  badly 
wounded  before  they  gave  up  the  attempt  to  cut  off  the 
vessel. 

The  father  of  Kitty  and  Toby  was  the  steward.  He  had 
been  fighting  all  through  like  a  demon,  having  for  his  Aveapon 
a  carpenter's  squaring  axe.  He  had  cut  one  islander  down 
with  a  fearful  blow  on  the  shoulder,  which  severed  the  arm, 
the  limb  falling  on  the  deck,  when  he  was  attacked  by  three 
others.  One  of  these  was  shot  by  a  Japanese  sailor,  and 
another  knocked  down  by  the  Captain,  when  the  poor 
steward  was  thrust  through  from  behind  and  died  in  a  few 
minutes. 

The  Captain  spoke  highly  of  the  courage  and  intelligence 
of  the  Pelew  islanders,  and  said  that  the  cause  of  the  attack 
upon  the  vessel  was  that,  being  under  the  Portuguese 
flag  —  the  brigantiue  was  owned  by  merchants  in  Macao  — 
the  natives  had  sought  to  avenge  the  bombardment  of  one 
of  their  principal  towns  by  two  Portuguese  gunboats  a  year 
previously. 

Hayston  afterwards  established  friendly  relations  with 
these  very  people  who  had  attacked  him,  and  six  months 
afterwards  slept  ashore  at  their  village  alone  and  unarmed. 

Prom  that  day  his  perfect  safety  was  assured.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  the  friendship  of  the  principal  chiefs  by 
selling  them  a  hundred  breech-loading  rifles  and  ten  thou- 
sand cartridges,  giving  them  two  years'  time  to  pay  for  them. 
He  also  gave  nearly  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  powder  and 
cartridges  to  the  relatives  of  the  men  killed  in  attempting 
to  cut  off  the  brigantiue. 


HALCYON   DAYS  115 

Such  was  one  of  the  many  romantic  incidents  in  Hay- 
ston's  career  in  the  wild  islands  still  further  to  the  north- 
west. That  he  was  a  mail  of  lion-like,  courage  and  marvellous 
resolution  under  the  most  desperate  circumstances  was 
known  to  all  who  ever  sailed  with  him.  Had  not  his  reck- 
lessness and  uncontrollable  passions  hurried  him  on  to  the 
commission  of  deeds  that  darkened  for  ever  his  good  name, 
his  splendid  qualities  would  have  earned  him  fame  and  for- 
tune in  any  of  those  national  enterprises  which  have  in  all 
ages  transformed  the  adventurer  into  the  hero. 

One  day,  while  we  sat  talking  together,  gazing  upon  the 
unruffled  deep,  —  he  had  been  explaining  the  theory  of  the 
ocean  currents,  as  well  as  the  electrical  phenomena  of  the 
Caroline  group,  where  thunder  may  be  heard  perhaps  six 
times  a  year,  and  lightning  seen  not  once,  —  I  unthinkingly 
asked  him  why  he  did  not  commit  his  observations  to  paper, 
as  I  felt  sure  that  the  large  amount  of  facts  relating  to  the 
meteorology  of  the  Pacific,  of  which  he  was  possessed,  would 
be  most  valuable,  and  as  such  secure  fitting  recognition  by 
the  scientific  world. 

He  smiled  bitterly,  then  answered,  "  Hilary,  my  boy,  it  is 
too  late.  I  am  an  outlaw  in  fact,  if  not  in  name.  The 
world's  doors  are  closed,  and  society  has  turned  its  back  on 
me.  Out  of  ten  professed  friends  nine  are  false,  and  Avould 
betray  me  to-morrow.  When  I  think  of  what  I  once  was, 
what  I  might  have  been,  and  to  what  I  have  now  fallen,  I 
am  weary  of  existence.  So  I  take  the  world  as  it  comes, 
with  neither  hope  nor  fear  for  the  morrow,  knowing  that  if 
I  do  not  make  blue  shark's  meat,  I  am  doomed  to  leave  my 
bones  on  some  coral  islet." 

And  thus  the  days  wore  on.  We  still  drifted  under  cloud- 
less skies,  over  the  unf retted  surface  of  the  blue  Pacific, 
the  brig's  sails  ever  and  anon  swelling  out  in  answer  to  the 
faint,  mysterious  breeze-whispers,  to  fall  languidly  back 
against  her  spars  and  cordage. 


116  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

Passing  the  Nuknor  or  Monteverde  Islands,  discovered 
by  Don  Juan  Monteverde  in  1806,  in  the  Spanish  frigate 
La  Paid,  we  sailed  onward  with  the  gentle  N.E.  trades  to 
Overluk,  and  then  to  Losap.  Like  the  people  of  Nuknor, 
the  Losap  islanders  were  a  splendid  race  and  most  hospita- 
ble. Then  we  made  the  Mortlock  group,  once  so  dreaded 
by  whaleships.  These  tierce  and  warlike  islanders  made 
most  determined  efforts  to  cut  off  the  whaleships  Dolly 
Primrose  and  Heavenly  City.  To  us,  however,  they  were 
most  amiable  in  demeanour,  and  loud  cries  of  welcome 
greeted  the  Captain  from  the  crowd  of  canoes  which 
swarmed  around  the  brig. 

Then  commenced  one  of  the  reckless  orgies  with  which 
the  brig's  crew  were  familiar.  Glad  to  escape  the  scene,  I 
left  the  brig  and  wandered  about  in  the  silent  depths  of 
the  island  forest. 

The  Captain  here,  as  elsewhere,  was  evidently  regarded 
as  a  visitor  of  immense  importance,  for  as  I  passed  through 
the  thickly  populated  villages  the  people  were  cooking  vast 
quantities  of  pigs,  poultry,  and  pigeons. 

The  women  and  girls  were  decorating  their  persons  with 
wreaths  of  flowers,  and  the  warriors  making  preparations 
for  a  big  dance  to  take  place  at  night.  I  had  brought  my 
gun  with  me,  and  shot  some  of  the  magnificent  pigeons 
which  throng  the  island  woods,  which  I  presented  to  the 
native  girls,  a  merry  group  of  whom  followed  me  with 
offerings  of  cocoa-nuts,  and  a  native  dish  made  of  baked 
bananas,  flavoured  with  the  juice  of  the  sugar-cane. 

I  could  not  have  eaten  a  fiftieth  part  of  what  was 
offered,  but  as  declining  would  have  been  regarded  as  a 
rudeness,  I  begged  them  to  take  it  to  the  chief's  house 
for  me. 

On  my  return  a  singular  and  characteristic  scene  pre- 
sented itself.  I  could  not  help  smiling  as  I  thought  what 
a   shock   it  would   have  given   many  of   my  steady-going 


HALCYON   DAYS  117 

friends  and  relatives  in  Sydney,  most  of  wlioni,  if  untrav- 
elled,  resemble  nothing  so  much  as  the  inhabitants  of  Eng- 
lish country  towns,  and  are  equally  apt  to  be  displeased 
at  any  departure  from  the  British  standard  of  manners 
and  morals. 

The  Captain  was  seated  on  a  mat  in  the  great  council- 
house  of  the  tribe,  talking  business  with  a  white-headed 
warrior,  whom  he  introduced  as  the  king  of  the  Mortlock 
group.  The  women  had  decorated  the  Captain's  neck  and 
broad  breast  with  wreaths  —  two  girls  were  seated  a  little 
farther  off,  binding  into  his  hat  the  tail-feathers  of  the 
tropic  bird.  He  seemed  in  a  merry  mood,  and  whispering 
something  to  the  old  man,  pointed  to  me. 

In  a  moment  a  dozen  young  girls  bounded  up,  and  with 
laughing  eyes  and  lips,  commenced  to  circle  around  me  in 
a  measure,  the  native  name  of  which  means  "a  dance  for 
a  husband." 

They  formed  a  pretty  enough  picture,  with  their  waving 
arms  and  flowing  flower-crowned  hair.  I  plead  guilty  to 
applauding  vociferously,  and  rewarding  them  with  a  quan- 
tity of  the  small  red  beads  which  the  Mortlock  girls  sew 
into  their  head-dresses. 

Thus,  with  but  slight  variations,  our  life  flowed,  if  monot- 
onously, pleasantly,  even  luxuriously  on  —  as  we  sailed  to 
and  fro  amid  these  charmed  isles,  from  Namoluk  to  Truk, 
thence  to  the  wondrously  beautiful  Royalist  Islands,  inhab- 
ited by  a  wild  vigorous  race.  They  also  made  much  of  us 
and  gave  dances  and  games  in  honour  of  our  visit. 

And  still  we  sailed  and  sailed.  Days  passed,  and  weeks. 
Still  glided  we  over  the  summer  sea  —  still  gazed  we  at 
a  cloudless  sky  —  still  felt  we  the  languorous,  sighing 
breath  of  the  soft  South  Pacific  winds. 

Day  by  day  the  same  flock  of  predatory  frigate  birds 
skimmed  and  swept  o'er  the  glittering  ocean  plain,  while 
high  overhead  the  wandering  tropic  birds  hung  motionless. 


118  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

with  their  scarlet  tail-feathers  floating  like  lance  pennons 
in  relief  against  the  bright  blue  heavens. 

Now,  the  Captain  had  all  a  true  seaman's  dislike  to  see- 
ing a  sea-bird  shot.  One  day,  off  Ocean  Island,  Jansen, 
the  mate,  came  out  of  the  cabin  with  a  long,  smooth  bore, 
which  he  proceeded  to  load  with  buck  shot,  glancing  the 
while  at  two  graceful  tropic  birds,  which,  with  snow-white 
wings  outspread,  were  poised  in  air  directly  over  the  deck, 
apparently  looking  down  with  wondering  eye  at  the  scene 
below. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  shoot,  Jansen  ?  "  inquired  the 
Captain,  in  a  mild  voice. 

The  mate  pointed  to  the  birds,  and  remarked  that  his 
girl  wanted  the  feathers  for  a  head-dress.  He  was  bring- 
ing the  gun  to  his  shoulder,  when  a  quick  "  Put  down  that 
musket,"  nearly  caused  him  to  drop  it. 

"  Jansen  ! "  said  the  Captain,  "  please  to  remember  this, 
—  never  let  me  see  you  or  any  other  man  shoot  a  sea-bird 
from  the  deck  of  this  ship.  Your  girl  can  live  without  the 
feathers,  I  presume,  and  what  is  more  to  the  point,  I  forbid 
you  to  do  it." 

The  mate  growled  something  in  an  undertone,  and  was 
turning  away  to  his  cabin,  when  Hayston  sprang  upon  him 
like  a  panther,  and  seizing  him  by  the  throat,  held  him 
before  him. 

"  By !  Jansen,"  he  said,  "  don't  tempt  me  too  far. 

I  told  you  as  civilly  as  possible  not  to  shoot  the  birds  — 
yet  you  turn  away  and  mutter  mutinously  before  my  men. 
Listen  to  me !  though  you  are  no  seaman,  and  a  thorough 
'  soldier,'  I  treat  you  well  for  peace'  sake.  But  once  give 
me  a  sidelook,  and  as  sure  as  God  made  me,  I'll  trice  you 
up  to  the  mainmast,  and  let  a  nigger  flog  you." 

He  released  his  hold  of  the  mate's  throat  after  this  warn- 
ing. The  cowed  bully  staggered  off  towards  his  cabin. 
After  which  the  Captain's  mood  changed  with  customary 


HALCYON    DAYS  119 

suddenness ;  he  came  aft,  and  began  a  game  with  Kitty  and 
her  brother  —  apparently  having  forgotten  the  very  exist- 
ence of  Jansen. 

•ff  -j(F  TT  TT  *  TT  -fr  -Tf  TV 

The  cahn,  bright  weather  still  prevailed  —  the  light  air 
hardly  filling  our  sails  —  the  current  doing  all  the  work. 
When  one  afternoon,  taking  a  look  from  aloft,  I  descried 
the  loom  of  Kusaie  or  Strong's  Island,  on  the  farthest 
horizon. 

"Land  ho!"  The  watch  below,  just  turning  out,  take 
up  the  cry  as  it  goes  from  mouth  to  mouth  on  deck.  Some 
of  them  gaze  longingly,  making  calculations  as  to  the 
amount  of  liberty  tliey  are  likely  to  get,  as  well  as  the 
work  that  lies  before  them. 

Early  next  morning  we  had  drifted  twenty  miles  nearer, 
whereupon  the  Captain  decided  to  run  round  to  the  Aveather 
side  of  the  island  first,  and  interview  the  king,  before  going 
to  Utwe  or  South  harbour,  where  we  proposed  to  do  the 
most  of  our  trading. 

Suddenly,  after  breakfast,  a  serious  disturbance  arose 
between  the  Chinese  carpenter  and  Bill  Hicks,  the  fierce 
Fijian  half-caste,  who  was  second  mate.  The  carpenter's 
provisional  spouse  was  a  handsome  young  woman  from  the 
Gilbert  group,  who  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  Ni-a-bon  (Shades 
of  Night).  Of  her,  the  carpenter,  a  tall,  powerfully -built 
Chinaman,  who  had  sailed  for  years  with  Hayston  in  the 
China  Seas,  was  intensely  jealous.  So  cunning,  however, 
was  she  in  evading  suspicion,  that  though  every  one  on 
board  was  aware  of  the  state  of  affairs,  her  lawful  protector 
suspected  nothing. 

However,  on  this  particular  morning,  Xellie,  the  Hope 
Island  girl,  being  reproved  by  the  second  mate  for  throw- 
ing pine  apple  and  banana  peel  into  the  ship's  dingey,  flew 
into  a  violent  rage,  and  told  the  carpenter  that  the  second 
mate  was  stealing  Ni-a-bon  —  and,  moreover,  had  persuaded 


120  A    MODERN   BUCCANEER 

her  to  put  something  into  his,  the  carpenter's,  food,  to  make 
him  "  go  mat^,"  i.e.  sicken  and  die. 

Seizing  an  axe,  the  Chinaman  sallied  on  deck,  and  com- 
menced to  exact  satisfaction  by  aiming  a  blow  at  Ni-a-bon, 
who  was  playing  cards  with  the  other  girls.  The  girl 
Mila  averted  the  blow,  and  the  whole  pack  fled  shrieking 
to  the  Captain,  who  at  once  called  upon  Bill  for  explanation. 

He  did  not  deny  the  impeachment,  and  offered  to  light 
the  carpenter  for  Ni-a-bon.  The  Captain  decided  this  to  be 
eminently  right  and  proper ;  but  thought  the  carpenter  was 
hardly  a  match  for  the  mate  with  fists.  Bill  promptly  sug- 
gested knives.  This  seemed  to  choke  off  the  carpenter,  as, 
amid  howls  from  the  women,  he  stepped  back  into  his 
cabin,  only  to  reappear  in  the  doorway  with  a  rifle,  and  to 
send  a  bullet  at  the  mate's  head,  which  missed  him. 

"At  him,  Billy,"  cried  the  Captain,  "give  him  a  good 
licking  —  but  donH  hurt  his  arms ;  there's  a  lot  of  work  to 
be  done  to  the  bulwarks  when  we  get  the  anchor  down 
again." 

The  second  mate  at  once  seized  the  carpenter,  and  drag- 
ging him  out  of  his  cabin,  in  a  few  minutes  had  so  knocked 
his  features  about  that  he  was  hardly  recognisable. 

Ni-a-bon  was  then  called  up  before  the  Captain  and  ques- 
tioned as  to  her  preference,  when,  with  many  smiles  and 
twisting  about  of  her  hands,  she  confessed  to  an  ardent 
attachment  to  the  herculean  Bill. 

The  Captain  told  Bill  that  he  would  have  to  pay  the 
carpenter  for  damages,  which  he  assessed  at  ten  dollars,  the 
amount  being  given,  not  for  personal  injury,  but  for  the  loss 
sustained  by  his  annexation  of  the  fascinating  Ni-a-bon. 

At  sunset  we  once  more  were  off  Chabral  harbour,  where 
we  ran  in  and  anchored  —  n)ithin  fifty  yards  of  the  king's 
house. 


CHAPTER  X 

MURDER    AND    SHIPWRECK 

We  found  the  island  in  a  state  of  excitement.  Two 
whaleships  had  arrived,  bringing  half  a  dozen  white  men, 
and  who  had  a  retinue  of  nearly  a  hundred  natives  from 
Ocean  and  Pleasant  Islands.  The  white  men  had  to  leave 
Pleasant  Island  on  account  of  a  general  engagement  which 
had  taken  place ;  had  fled  to  the  ships  for  safety,  taking 
with  them  their  native  wives,  families,  and  adherents. 

The  other  men  were  from  Ocean  Island,  a  famine  having 
set  in  from  drought  in  that  lovely  isle.  They  had  also 
taken  passage  with  their  native  following,  to  seek  a  more 
temporarily  favoured  spot.  The  fertility  of  Kusaie  (Strong's 
Island)  had  decided  them  to  remain. 

Strange  characters,  in  truth,  were  these  same  traders, 
now  all  quartered  at  Chabral  harbour !  They  were  not 
without  means,  and  so  far  had  conducted  themselves  de- 
cently. But  their  retinue  of  savage  warriors  had  struck 
terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  milder  natives  of  Kusaie. 

Let  me  draw  from  the  life  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  the 
movement,  on  the  occasion  of  his  embarkation. 

Ocean  Island,  lat.  0°  50'  south,  long.  168°  east. 

A  fantastic,  lonely,  forbidding-looking  spot.  Circular  in 
form,  with  rounded  summit,  and  a  cruel  upheaved  coral 
coast,  split  up  into  ravines  running  deep  into  the  land. 
Here  and  there,  on  ledges  overlooking  the  sea,  are  perched 
tiny  villages,  inhabited  by  as  fierce  and  intractable  a  race 

121 


122  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

of  Malayo-Polynesians  as  ever  lacerated  each  other's  bodies 
with  sharks'-tooth  daggers,  after  the  mad  drunkenness  pro- 
duced by  sour  toddy. 

********* 

Mister  Robert  Ridley,  aged  seventy,  sitting  on  a  case  in 
his  house,  on  the  south-west  point  of  Paanopa,  as  its  people 
call  Ocean  Island,  with  a  bottle  of  ''square  face"  before 
him,  from  which  he  refreshes  himself,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  a  glass,  is  one  of  the  few  successful  deserters 
from  the  convict  army  of  New  South  Wales.  At  the  pres- 
ent moment  he  is  an  ill-used  man.  For  seven  years  he  has 
been  the  boss  white  man  of  Paanopa,  ever  since  he  left 
the  neighbouring  Naura  or  Pleasant  Island,  after  seeing 
his  comrades  fall  in  the  ranks  one  by  one,  slain  by  bullet 
or  the  scarce  less  deadly  drink  demon.  Now,  solitary  and 
saturnine,  he  has  to  bow  to  Fate  and  quit  his  equatorial 
cave  of  Adullam,  because  a  mysterious  Providence  has 
afflicted  his  island  with  a  drought. 

From  out  the  open  door  he  sees  the  Josephine,  of  New  Bed- 
ford, Captain  Jos  Long,  awaiting  the  four  whaleboats  now 
on  the  little  beach  below  his  house,  which  are  engaged  in 
conveying  on  board  his  household  goods  and  chattels,  his 
wives  and  his  children,  with  their  children,  and  a  dusky 
retinue  of  blood-relations  and  retainers ;  for  the  drought 
had  made  food  scarce.  Blood  had  been  shed  over  the 
ownership  of  certain  cocoa-nut  trees ;  and  old  Bob  Ridley 
has  decided  to  bid  farewell  to  his  island,  and  to  make  for 
Ponape  in  the  Carolines.  So  the  old  man  sits  alone  and 
awaits  a  call  from  the  last  boat.  Perhaps  he  feels  unusual 
emotion  stirring  him,  as  the  faint  murmur  of  voices  ascends 
from  the  beach.  He  would  be  alone  for  awhile  to  conjure 
up  strange  memories  of  the  past,  or  because  the  gin  bottle 
is  but  half  emptied. 

********* 


MUKDEll    AND    SHirWKECK  123 

"The  Josephine,  of  New  Bedford!"  he  mutters,  as  a 
grim  smile  passes  over  his  bronzed,  sin-wrinkled  counte- 
nance ;  ''  why,  t'' other  one  was  from  New  Bedford  too.  This 
one's  larger — a  six-boat  shij)  —  and  carries  a  big  after- 
guard. Still  the  job  could  be  done  agin.  But — what's 
the  good  now !  If  Joe,  the  Portuguese,  was  here  with  me 
I'd  say  it  could  be  done."  Another  gulp  at  the  "  square 
face."  "Damn  it!  I'm  an  old  fool.  There's  too  man}^ 
of  these  here  cussed  blubber-hunting  Yankees  about  now. 
Say  we  took  the  ship,  we'd  never  get  away  with  her. 
Please  God,  I'll  go  to  Ponape  and  live  like  a  d — d  gentle- 
man. There's  some  of  the  old  crowd  there  now,  and  I 
a'n't  so  old  yet." 

And  here,  maybe,  the  old  renegade  falls  a  thinking 
afresh  of  "  the  other  one  "  from  New  Bedford,  that  made 
this  very  island  on  the  evening  of  the  3rd  of  December 
1852. 

Out  nearly  two  years,  and  working  up  from  the  Line 
Islands  towards  Honolulu,  the  skipper  had  tried  to  make 
Pleasant  Island,  to  get  a  boat-load  of  pigs  for  his  crew,  but 
light  winds  and  strong  currents  had  drifted  him  away,  till, 
at  dawn,  he  saw  the  rounded  summits  of  Ocean  Island  pen- 
cilled faintly  against  the  horizon,  and  stood  away  for  it. 
'^  We  can  get  a  few  boat-loads  of  pigs  and  '  punkins  '  there, 
anyhow,"  he  said  to  the  mate. 

The  mate  had  been  there  before,  and  didn't  like  going 
again.  That  was  in  1850.  Sixteen  white  men  lived  there 
then,  ten  of  whom  were  runaway  convicts  from  Sydney 
or  Norfolk  Island.  He  told  his  captain  that  they  were 
part  of  a  gang  of  twenty-seven  who  had  at  various  times 
been  landed  from  whalers  at  Pleasant  Island  in  1845. 
They  had  separated  —  some  going  away  in  the  Sallie 
whaler,  and  others  finding  their  way  to  Ocean  Island. 
Now,  the  Sallie  was  never  heard  of  again,  the  mate  remarked. 
The  captain  of  the  Inga  looked  grave,  but  he  had  set  his 


124  A   MODERN    BUCCANEEli 

heart  upon  the  pigs  and  "  punkins."  So  at  dusk  the  brig 
hove  to,  close  to  the  south-west  point,  and  as  no  boats 
came  off  the  skipper  went  ashore. 

********* 

There  were  nearly  a  thousand  people  on  Ocean  Island 
then,  and  he  felt  a  trifle  queer  as  the  boat  was  rushed 
by  the  wild,  long-haired  crowd,  and  carried  bodily  on 
shore. 

Through  the  gathering  darkness  he  saw  the  forms  of 
white  men  trying  to  push  their  way  through  the  yellow 
crowd  of  excited  natives.  Presently  a  voice  called  out, 
"  Don't  be  scared,  mister  !  Let  the  niggers  have  their  way 
and  carry  up  the  boat." 

He  let  them  have  their  way,  and  after  being  glared  at  by 
the  red  light  of  cocoa-nut  torches  borne  by  the  women,  he 
was  conducted  to  one  of  three  houses  occupied  by  the  six 
gentlemen  who  had  arranged  to  leave  the  continent  of 
Australia  without  beat  of  drum. 

Bob  Ridley's  hou.se  was  the  scene  of  rude  and  reckless 
revelry  that  night.  A  jar  of  the  Inga's  rum  had  been  sent 
for,  and  seated  around  on  the  boxes  that  lined  the  side 
of  the  room  the  six  convicts  drank  the  raw  spirit  like  milk, 
and  plied  the  captain  for  news  of  the  outer  world  two  years 
old.  Surrounding  the  house  was  a  throng  of  eager,  curious 
natives,  no  longer  noisy,  but  strangely  silent  as  their  roll- 
ing, gleaming  eyes  gloated  over  the  stone  jar  on  the  table. 
Presently  a  native,  called  "  Jack  "  by  his  white  fellow  res- 
idents, comes  to  the  door  and  makes  a  quick  sign  to  Bob 
and  a  man  named  Brady,  who  rose  and  followed  him  into 
a  shed  used  as  a  cook-house.  Jack's  story  is  soon  told. 
He  had  been  to  the  brig.  She  had  thirty-two  hands,  but 
three  men  were  sick.  A  strict  watch  was  kept  by  the 
mate,  not  more  than  ten  natives  were  allowed  on  board  at 
once.     In  the  port   bow  boats  and  the   starboard   quarter 


MURDER    AND   SHIPWRECK  125 

boats  hanging  on  the  davits  there  were  two  sailors  armed 
with  muskets. 

Another  of  the  white  men  now  sluuk  into  the  cook-house 
where  the  three  talked  earnestly.  Then  Brady  went  back 
and  told  the  captain  that  the  brig  was  getting  into  the  set 
of  the  outer  currents,  and  would  be  out  of  sight  of  land  by 
daylight  unless  he  made  sail  and  worked  in  close  again. 
Upon  which  the  captain  shook  hands  all  around,  and  was 
escorted  to  his  boat,  promising  to  be  back  at  daylight  and 
get  his  load  of  "  punkins." 

Brady  and  two  others  went  with  the  captain  for  com- 
pany, and  on  the  way  out  one  of  his  new  friends  —  a  tall, 
ghastly  creature,  eternally  twisting  his  long  fingers  and 
squirting  tobacco  juice  from  his  evil-seeming  mouth  —  told 
the  captain  that  he  "  orter  let  his  men  take  a  run  ashore  to 
get  some  cocoa-nuts  and  have  a  skylark."  When  they  got 
aboard  the  captain  told  the  mate  to  take  the  sentries  out  of 
the  boats,  to  make  sail,  and  run  in  close  out  of  the  currents, 
as  it  was  all  right.  The  captain  and  the  guests  went  below 
to  open  another  jar,  while  the  mate  and  cooper  roused  up  the 
hands  who  were  lying  about  yarning  and  smoking,  and  told 
them  to  make  sail.  In  the  house  ashore  Bob  Eidley  with 
his  two  companions  and  Jack  were  planning  lioio  the  Job 
ivas  to  be  clone. 

Two  boats  came  ashore  at  daylight,  and  in  addition  to 
the  crews  there  were  ten  or  a  dozen  liberty  men  who  had 
leave  till  noon  to  have  a  run  about  the  island.  The  cap- 
tain still  bent  on  his  "punkins,"  took  a  boat-steerer  and 
two  other  hands  to  put  the  coveted  vegetables  into  bags 
and  carry  them  down  to  the  boats.  The  pumpkins,  Ridley 
said,  grew  on  his  own  land  quite  close;  the  men  could  pick 
them  off  the  vines,  and  the  natives  carry  them  down.  So 
they  set  off  up  the  hill  until  the  pumpkin  patch  Avas 
reached.  Here  old  Bob  suddenly  felt  ill,  and  thought  he 
would  go  back  to  take  a  swig  at  the  rum  jar  and  return,  but 


126  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

if  the  captain  wanted  a  good  view  from  the  top  of  the 
island  Jack  would  show  him  round.  So  leaving  the  men 
to  bag  the  pumpkins,  the  skipper  and  Jack  climbed  the 
path  winding  through  the  cocoa-nuts  to  the  top  of  the  hill. 
The  sun  was  hot  already,  and  the  captain  thirsty.  Jack, 
out  of  his  hospitable  heart,  suggested  a  drink.  There  were 
plenty  of  cocoa-nuts  around  growing  on  short,  stumpy 
trees,  a  couple  of  which  he  twisted  off,  and  without  husk- 
ing one  with  his  teeth,  as  is  often  done,  cut  a  hole  in  the 
green  husk  and  presented  it  to  the  skipper  to  drink  from. 
The  nut  was  a  heavy  one;  taking  it  in  both  hands  the 
doomed  sailor  raised  it  to  his  lips  and  threw  back  his  head. 
That  was  his  last  sight  of  the  summer  sky  that  has  smiled 
down  on  so  many  a  deed  of  blood  and  rapine.  For  Jack 
at  that  moment  lifted  his  right  arm  and  drove  the  knife  to 
the  hilt  through  his  heart. 


As  Jack  hurried  back  to  be  in  good  time  for  the  "  grand 
coup  "  —  the  cutting  off  of  the  brig  —  he  saw  that  the  boat- 
steerer  and  his  two  hands  had  finished  gathering  the  pump- 
kins. Two  bags  were  filled  and  tied,  while  beside  them 
were  the  three  bodies  of  the  gatherers,  each  decently  cov- 
ered with  a  spreading  cocoa-nut  branch.  The  ten  "  liberty 
men  "  had  been  induced  by  a  bevy  of  laughing  island  nymphs 
to  accompany  them  along  the  ledge  of  the  steep  coast  cliff 
to  a  place  where,  as  Jack  had  told  them,  they  would  find 
plenty  of  nuts  —  a  species  of  almond  peculiar  to  Ocean  and 
Pleasant  Islands.  Half-an-hour's  walk  took  them  out  of 
sight  and  hearing  of  the  Inga,  and  tlien  the  "  liberty  men  " 
saw  that  the  girls  had  somehow  dropped  behind,  and  were 
running  with  trembling  feet  into  the  maze  of  the  under- 
growth. The  startled  men  found  themselves  in  an  amphi- 
theatre of  jagged  rough  coral  boulders,  covered  over  with 
a  dense  verdure  of  creepers,  when  suddenly  Brady  and  fifty 


MtJRDER   AND   SHIPWRECK  127 

other  devils  swept  down  upon  them  without  a  cry.  It  was 
soon  over.  Then  the  blood-stained  mob  hurried  back  to  the 
little  beach. 

********* 

The  mate  of  the  Inga  was  a  raw-boned  Yankee  from 
Martha's  Vineyard.  Fearless,  and  yet .  watchful,  he  had 
struck  the  tall  renegade  as  "a  chap  as  was  agoin'  to  give 
them  trouble  if  they  didn't  stiffen  him  fust  in  the  cabin." 
It  was  then  noon,  and  as  eight  bells  struck  the  crew  began 
to  get  dinner.  The  mate,  before  he  went  below,  took  a  look 
at  the  shore  and  fancied  he  saw  the  boat  shoving  off  with 
the  captain. 

"  Yes,'"  chimed  in  Wilkins,  one  of  the  guests,  "  that's  him ; 
he's  got  a  boat-load,  and  all  the  canoes  comin'  off 's  a  lot  of 
our  own  niggers  bringin'  off  cocoa-nuts." 

"  Then  let's  get  dinner  right  away,"  answered  the  mate, 
who  knew  the  captain  would  make  sail  as  soon  as  ever  he 
found  his  "  punkins  "  safe  aboard. 

Had  he  known  that  the  captain  was  lying  staring  up  at 
the  sun  on  the  hilltop  among  the  dwarf  palms,  he  might 
even  then  have  made  a  fight  of  it,  short  of  half  the  crew 
as  he  was. 

It  was  not  to  be. 

They  went  below  —  he  and  his  guests,  the  third  mate  and 
the  carpenter ;  the  cooper  was  left  in  charge  of  the  ship. 

The  boats  and  canoes  came  alongside  at  once,  pulling 
hard.  Suddenly  the  cooper  heard  a  cry  from  a  man  in  the 
waist  of  the  ship  that  chilled  his  blood,  while  over  the  bul- 
warks swarmed  the  copper-skinned  crowd,  knife  and  club  in 
hand.  As  he  rushed  to  the  companion,  the  tall  renegade 
looked  up  and  saw  the  time  had  come. 

Then  began  the  butchery.     The  ship's  officers  rushed  on 


128  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

deck,  leaving  behind  only  the  negro  steward  and  a  boy  with 
the  three  convicts.  Two  shots  were  fired  in  the  cabin,  after 
which  the  three  demons  hurried  up  to  join  in  the  melee. 
In  ten  minutes  there  was  not  a  man  of  the  crew  alive,  ex- 
cept the  cooper  in  the  maintop,  with  a  bloody  whale-spade 
in  his  fast  relaxing  grasp.  Brady  and  Bob  were  agreed  "  to 
give  the  old  cove  a  chance  to  get  eat  up  by  the  sharks,"  and 
ironically  advised  him  to  take  a  header  and  swim  ashore. 
But  the  cooper,  with  his  feet  dangling  over  the  futtocks 
and  his  head  sunk  on  his  chest,  made  no  sign.  He  fell  back 
as  a  streak  of  red  ran  slowly  between  the  planking  of  the 
maintop  and  trickled  down  the  mast  to  the  deck. 

********* 

It  was  a  disappointment  when  the  white  murderers  gath- 
ered in  the  cabin  to  find  so  small  a  quantity  of  rum  in  the 
Inga's  lazarette.  But  they  were  consoled  by  two  bags  of 
Mexican  dollars  —  "  Money  for  the  punkins,"  grinned  Brady, 
which  would  buy  them  twice  as  much  as  they  wanted  when 
next  ship  came  along.  And  then  as  the  principal  business 
was  over,  the  harmony  began,  and  amidst  rum  and  unholy 
jesting,  a  division  of  the  effects  in  the  cabins  was  made, 
while  unto  Jack  and  his  myrmidons  were  abandoned  all 
and  sundry  that  could  be  found  for'rard. 

When  the  heavy-laden  boats  had  been  sent  again  and 
again  to  the  shore,  a  fire  was  lighted  in  the  cabin  by  the  tall 
renegade,  and  the  white  men  pushed  off.  But  it  suddenly 
occurred  to  Messrs.  Kidley  and  Brady  that  "  such  a  hell  of  a 
blaze  might  be  seen  by  some  other  blubber-hunters  a  long 
way  on  a  dark  night,"  so  the  boat  was  put  back  and  the  brig 
hurriedly  scuttled.  And  you  can  drop  a  lead  line  close  to 
the  edge  of  the  reef  anywhere  about  Ocean  Island,  and  get 
no  soundings  at  forty  fathoms. 


***** 


MURDER    AND   SHIPWRECK  129 

Soon  after  we  anchored  an  urgent  message  was  sent  to 
the  Captain  by  King  Tokusar  and  Queen  Se,  imploring  him 
to  come  ashore  and  advise  them.  The  Captain  had  of  late 
seemed  averse  to  going  anywhere  without  my  company,  and 
asked  me  to  come  with  him.  So,  getting  into  the  whale- 
boat,  we  were  pulled  on  shore,  landing  at  a  massively-built 
stone  wharf  which  formed  part  of  the  royal  premises. 

I  may  here  mention  that  the  headquarters  of  the  American 
Mission  had  been  at  Kusaie  for  many  years.  The  people 
were  all  Christians,  and  to  a  certain  degree  educated. 
Their  island  took  rank,  therefore,  as  the  most  successful 
result  of  missionary  enterprise  in  the  North  Pacific. 

A  native  college  had  been  built,  to  which  were  brought 
from  outlying  islands  those  natives  who  were  destined  for 
the  ministry.  However,  about  a  year  previously  the  Board 
of  Mission  had  changed  their  headquarters  to  Ebon,  an 
island  of  the  Marshall  group,  leaving  but  one  native  mis- 
sionary on  Kusaie  in  charge  of  the  flock.  His  name  was 
Likiak  Sa.  There  are  coloured  Chadbands  as  well  as  white 
ones;  and  for  pure,  unmitigated  hypocrisy  the  European 
professor  would  have  had  but  little  show  in  a  prize  contest. 

The  head  of  the  American  Mission,  Mr.  Morland,  had 
built  himself  an  exceedingly  comfortable  stone  house  in 
Lel6.  As  he  was  away  at  present  in  the  brig  lloniing  Star, 
his  residence  was  occupied  by  his  fellow-worker,  Likiak  Sa, 
his  wife,  and  an  exceedingly  pretty  girl  named  Kitty  of 
Ebon,  who  acted  as  housekeeper  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morland 
when  at  home. 

The  missionaries  had  tried  hard  to  prevent  the  people  of 
Kusaie  from  selling  produce  to  the  whaleships,  alleging  that 
their  visits  were  fruitful  of  harm.  The  old  king,  however, 
whose  power  had  declined  sensibly  since  the  arrival  of  the 
missionaries,  withstood  their  orders;  and  finally  insisted 
upon  the  privilege  of  permitting  them  to  visit  the  island, 
and  to   purchase   the   pigs,   poultry,    and   fruit   from   the 


130  A   MODERN   BUCCANEEIi 

islanders   which   would    otherwise    lie    useless    on    their 
hands. 

This  King  Tokusar  was  a  curious  compound  of  shrewd- 
ness, generosity,  cant,  and  immorality,  each  alternately 
gaining  the  upper  hand. 

On  entering  the  "palace,"  which  was  exceedingly  well 
furnished,  we  found  him  seated  in  an  armchair  in  his  recep- 
tion room.  He  was  dressed  in  a  black  frock-coat  and  white 
duck  trousers :  the  latter  somewhat  of  a  military  cut,  falling 
over  patent  leather  shoes.  On  one  side  of  the  chair,  lying 
on  its  broad  arm,  was  a  ponderous  copy  of  the  Scriptures  in 
the  Kusaie  dialect.  On  the  other  arm  was  placed  one  of 
the  long  clay  pipes  known  as  churchwardens. 

Behind  him,  with  her  much  bejewelled  fingers  clasping 
the  back  of  her  consort's  chair,  was  Queen  Se,  a  pretty  little 
woman,  with  a  pleasant,  animated  expression  of  counte- 
nance. Further  inside  the  apartment  were  the  queen's 
female  attendants,  sitting  in  the  ungraceful  manner  peculiar 
to  the  Pingelap  and  Kusaie  women. 

The  king  looked  worn  and  ill,  as  he  croaked  out,  "  How 
you  do.  Captain?  I  glad  to  see  you  again.  I  thank  God 
he  bin  good  to  you  —  give  you  good  voyage.  How  much 
oil  you  bin  buy  at  Ponape?" 

Shaking  hands  warmly  with  the  king,  Hayston  introduced 
me  in  form,  and  then  to  Her  Majesty,  who  smiled  graciously, 
tossing  back  her  wavy  black  hair,  so  as  to  show  her  massive 
gold  ear-rings.  Chairs  were  brought,  when  a  truly  amusing 
conversation  took  place. 

King.  —  "  Well,  Captain !  you  d — d  clever  man.  I  want 
you  give  me  advice.  You  see  —  all  these  men  come  to 
Kusaie.  Well  —  me  afraid,  take  my  island  altogether. 
What  you  think?  " 

Captain.  —  "  Oh  no,  king!  I'll  see  they  do  you  no  harm. 
I  think  some  of  them  go  away  in  the  Leonora." 

King. — (Much  doubting)  "Oh!  thank  you.     I  no  want 


MURDER    AND   SHIPWIIECK  131 

too  many  white  men  here  —  no  Christians  like  Kusaie  men. 
No  believe  God,  no  Jesus  Christ."  (Then  with  sudden 
change  of  tone)  "I  say,  Capt'n  Hayston,  one  of  you  men 
no  pay  my  people  when  you  here  last  —  no  pay  anybody." 

Captain.  — "  Very  bad  man,  king,  how  much  he  cheat 
people  out  of?  " 

King.  —  (With  inquiring  look  at  queen)  "  Oh !  about  three 
dollars." 

Captain.  —  "I'll  attend  to  it,  king  —  I'll  see  it  paid." 

King.  —  "  Thank  you,  Capt'n.  What  you  say  this  young 
gentleman's  name?" 

Captain.  — "His  name  is  Hilary  Telfer." 

King. — "You  like  Strong's  Island,  young  gentleman? 
Pretty  girl,  eh?  Same  as  Captain?  "  Here  he  gave  a  wheez- 
ing laugh,  and  clapped  his  hands  on  the  Captain's  knees. 

I  told  him  I  thought  the  Strong  Island  girls  very  pretty. 
The  queen  communicated  this  to  the  attendants.  After 
Avhich  I  was  the  recipient  of  various  nods  and  winks  and 
wreathed  smiles. 

An  enormous  roasted  hog  was  then  carried  in  by  two  of  the 
king's  cooks,  after  which  a  luimber  of  servitors  appeared 
carrying  taro,  yams,  and  other  vegetables  —  again  yet  more, 
bearing  quantities  of  fish.  We  seated  ourselves  at  a  small 
table  —  the  Captain  opposite  the  king,  while  the  lively  little 
queen  and  I  were  vis-a-vis. 

"  Make  up  to  her, "  whispered  the  Captain,  "  flatter  her  to 
the  masthead  if  you  wish  to  be  in  clover  for  the  rest  of  your 
stay.     Never  mind  old  Tokusar." 

Acting  on  this  hint  I  got  on  famously  with  her  South  Sea 
majesty,  discovering  in  due  course  that  she  was  a  really 
clever  little  woman,  as  well  as  an  outrageous  flirt. 

Presently  the  boats  came  ashore  again,  and  the  steward 
was  ushered  in,  carrying  a  large  box. 

"  King ! "  said  the  Captain,  "  I  know  you  are  sick,  and 
need  something  to  make  you  strong.     Pray  accept  a  small 


132  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

present  from  my  table."  The  present  consisted  of  two 
bottles  of  brandy,  with  the  same  quantity  of  gin,  and  a 
dozen  of  beer. 

"Oh!  thank  you,  Capt'n  —  you  really  very  kind.  By 
George!    I  like  you  too  much." 

The  queen  cast  a  reproachful  glance  at  Hayston.  I  could 
see  she  did  not  appreciate  the  gift.  Her  lord  soon  had  a 
bottle  of  brandy  opened,  out  of  which  he  poured  himself  an 
able  seaman's  dose.  The  Captain  took  a  little,  and  I  —  for 
once  in  my  life  —  shared  a  bottle  of  Tennant's  bitter  beer 
with  a  real  queen. 

The  king  rose  up,  with  a  broad  smile  illumining  his 
wrinkled  face,  and  said,  with  his  glass  to  his  lips,  "  Capt'n, 
and  Capt'n's  friend,  I  glad  to  see  you."  Presently,  how- 
ever, with  a  scared  face,  he  said  something  to  his  consort  at 
which  she  seemed  disconcerted,  and  then  told  us  they  had 
forgotten  to  say  grace. 

This,  in  a  solemn  manner,  Hayston  requested  me  to  do, 
and,  as  I  was  bending  my  head  and  muttering  the  half- 
forgotten  formula,  the  king  leaned  over  and  whispered  to 
him,  "  I  say,  Capt'n,  how  many  labour  boys  you  want  take 
away  in  brig?" 

This  made  me  collapse  entirely,  and  I  indulged  in  a 
hearty  laugh.  The  Captain  and  the  queen  followed  suit, 
and,  at  some  distance,  the  king's  cackling  merriment. 

It  certainly  was  a  jolly  dinner.  The  king  was  growing 
madder  ever  minute,  alternately  quoting  Scripture  and 
swearing  atrociously.  After  which  he  told  me  that  he 
liked  to  be  good  friends  with  Mr.  Morland,  and  that  he  had 
given  up  all  his  bad  habits.  But,  changing  his  mood  again, 
he  confided  to  me  that  he  wished  he  was  young  again,  and 
concluded  by  expressing  a  decided  opinion  as  to  the  beauty 
of  Kitty  of  Ebon,  Mrs.  Morlaud's  housekeeper. 

The  queen  now  rose  from  the  table  and  asked  me  to 
smoke  a  cigar.     She  produced  a  \voik-l)ox  in  which  were 


MURDER    AND    SHIPWHP:CK  133 

cigarettes  and  some  Manila  cheroots.  Most  graciously  she 
lighted  one  for  me. 

The  king  -svas  now  more  than  half -seas  over.  He  laughed 
hilariously  at  the  Captain's  stories,  and,  with  some  double- 
barrelled  oaths,  announced  his  determination  to  return  to 
the  worship  of  the  heathen  gods  and  to  increase  the  number 
of  his  wives. 

Queen  Se  smiled,  and  blowing  out  the  smoke  from 
between  her  pouting  red  lips,  said,  "Hear  the  old  fool 
talk!" 

That  night  there  was  high  revel  on  board  the  Leonora 
after  we  had  taken  our  farewell  of  the  king  and  queen. 

Hayston  decided  to  take  advantage  of  the  land  breeze, 
and  so  get  away  to  South  harbour  at  once,  as  we  had  busi- 
ness to  do  there.  Chabral  harbour  was  a  difficult  place  to 
get  out  of,  though  easy  enough  to  get  into. 

The  trade  winds  blow  steadily  here  for  seven  months  out 
of  the  twelve.  Now,  though  the  largest  ship  afloat  may 
run  in  easily  through  the  deep  and  narrow  passage,  there  is 
not  room  enough  to  beat  out  against  the  north-east  wind. 
Neither  can  she  tow  out,  as  there  is  always  a  heavy  swell 
rolling  in  through  the  passage,  wind  or  no  Avind.  Kedging 
out  is  also  simply  impossible,  owing  to  the  extraordinary 
depth  of  water. 

In  1836,  the  Falcon  of  London,  a  whaleship,  lay  in  Chabral 
harbour  for  120  days.  She  had  ventured  in  for  wood  and 
water.  On  making  a  fifth  attempt  to  tow  out  with  her  five 
boats,  she  touched  and  went  to  pieces  on  the  reef. 

Hayston,  however,  had  run  in,  knowing  that  at  this 
season  of  the  year  —  from  January  to  March  —  the  winds 
were  variable,  a  land  breeze  generally  springing  up  at  dusk. 

I  stated  that  there  was  revelry  on  board  the  brig  that 
night.  The  fact  was  that  the  Captain,  in  the  presence  of 
the  king,  queen,  and  myself,  had  made  agreement  with  the 


134  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

refugee  traders  to  take  them  to  whatever  island  they  pre- 
ferred. The  king  was  strongly  averse  to  their  retinue  of 
excitable  natives  being  domiciled  among  the  peaceful  Kusaie 
people.  Inspired  with  courage  by  the  presence  of  Hayston, 
he  had  told  the  traders  that  he  wished  them  to  vacate  Lel6. 
If  they  did  arrange  to  leave  in  the  Leonora,  he  told  them 
that  they  could  establish  themselves  at  Utw6  (South  har- 
bour), and  there  remain  until  they  got  away  in  a  passing 
whaler  or  China-bound  ship. 

After  conferring  Avith  Hayston,  most  of  the  traders 
decided  to  take  his  offer  of  conveying  them  and  their  fol- 
lowing to  Ujilong  (Providence  Island),  which  was  his  own 
property,  and  there  enter  into  engagement  with  him  to 
make  oil  for  five  years.  Two  others  agreed  to  proceed  to 
the  sparsely  populated  but  beautiful  Eniwetok  (or  Brown's 
group),  where  were  vast  quantities  of  cocoa-nuts,  and  only 
thirty  natives.  These  two  men  had  a  following  of  thirty 
Ocean  islanders,  and  were  in  high  delight  at  the  prospect 
of  having  an  island  to  themselves  and  securing  a  fortune 
after  a  few  years  of  oil-making. 

As  the  merry  clink  of  the  windlass  pauls  echoed  amidst 
the  verdurous  glens  and  crags  of  the  mountains  that  sur- 
round LeM,  the  traders,  with  their  wives,  families,  and 
followers,  pulled  off  in  their  whaleboats  and  came  aboard. 

What  a  picture  did  the  brig  make  as  she  spread  her 
snowy  canvas  to  the  land-breeze !  Laden  with  the  perfume 
of  a  thousand  flowers,  cooled  by  its  passage  through  the 
primeval  forest,  it  swept  us  along  towards  the  passage, 
upon  the  right  steering  through  which  so  much  depended. 
The  traders  had  half  a  dozen  whaleboats ;  these,  with  two 
belonging  to  the  Leonora,  were  towing  astern,  with  a  native 
in  each. 

The  passage,  as  I  have  said  before,  was  deep  but  narrow. 
As  the  traders  gazed  on  either  side  and  watched  the  immense 
green  rollers  dashing  with  resistless  force  past  the  brig's 


MURDER    AND    SHIPWRECK  135 

side,  they  looked  apprehensively  at  the  Captain  and  then  at 
their  boats  astern. 

Right  in  the  centre  an  enorraons  billow  came  careering 
along  at  the  speed  of  an  express  train.  Though  it  had  no 
"  breaking  curl "  on  its  towering  crest,  I  instinctively  placed 
my  hands  in  the  starboard  boat  davits,  expecting  to  see  the 
vast  volume  of  water  sweep  our  decks.  Some  of  the  traders 
sprang  into  the  main  rigging  just  as  the  brig  lifted  to  the 
sea,  to  plunge  downward  with  a  swift  and  graceful  motion, 
never  losing  her  way  for  a  moment.  No  man  of  our  crew 
took  the  least  notice.  They  knew  what  the  brig  could  do, 
they  knew  the  Captain,  and  no  more  anticipated  a  disaster 
than  a  mutiny. 

We  made  open  water  safely.  Then  the  Captain  descended 
from  the  fore-yard,  whence  he  had  been  conning  the  ship. 
"Well,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  "here  we  are,  all  on  board  the 
Leonora!     I  hope  you  think  well  of  her." 

The  traders  emphatically  asserted  that  she  was  a  wonder. 
Then,  as  we  did  not  intend  to  enter  Utw6  harbour  till  the 
morning,  we  shortened  sail.  The  brig  was  placed  under 
her  topsails  only,  and  we  glided  slowly  and  smoothly  down 
the  coast.  Still  the  reef  surge  was  thundering  on  the  star- 
board hand. 

The  light  of  the  native  villages  —  for  the  sudden  night 
of  the  tropics  was  upon  us  —  glimmered  through  the  groves 
of  cocoa-nuts  and  bread-fruit  trees  that  fringed  the  snowy 
beeches.  A  shadowy,  dreamy  landscape,  blurred  and  indis- 
tinct at  times,  while  ever  and  anon  the  back-borne  spume 
of  the  breakers  fell  in  rain-mist  over  all,  as  they  reared 
and  raved,  only  to  dash  themselves  in  mad  turmoil  on  the 
javelins  of  jagged  coral. 

It  was  a  strange  scene.  Yet  stranger  still  were  the 
dramatis  personae  —  the  wild  band  of  traders  that  clustered 
around  the  giant  form  of  the  Captain,  as  he  lay  smoking 
his  cigar  on  the  skylight,  in  friendly  converse  with  all. 


136  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Foremost  in  position  and  seniority  comes  old  Harry 
Terry,  a  stalwart,  grizzled  veteran,  brown-cheeked  and 
bright-eyed  still.  Full  of  yarns  of  his  cruise  with  Captain 
Waldegrave  of  H.M.  Seringapatan,  and  Captain  Thomas 
Thompson  in  the  Talbot  frigate,  on  the  coast  of  South 
America.  Clear  and  honest  is  his  eye,  yet  he  has  a  worn 
and  saddened  look,  as  from  a  sorrow,  long  past,  half- 
forgotten,  yet  never  to  be  wholly  erased  from  memory's 
tablet.  A  deserter  —  of  course.  Yet  had  he  a  true  Briton's 
love  for  the  flag  which  he  had  once  sailed  and  fought  under. 
By  his  side  stand  four  stalwart  half-caste  sons,  hearkening 
with  glistening  eyes  to  the  Captain's  tales  of  lands  they  had 
never  seen,  scarcely  heard  of, —  of  polar  bears,  icebergs, 
dog  sledges,  Esquimaux,  reindeer,  far  amid  the  solitudes  of 
the  frozen  North. 

Close  by  old  Harry  sits  a  tall,  red-bearded  man,  with  a 
look  of  latent  humour  in  his  countenance,  which  proclaims 
his  nationality  even  if  the  richness  of  his  brogue  were  not 
in  evidence.  This  is  Pleasant  Island  Bill,  a  merry  good- 
for-nothing,  with  a  warm  heart  and  unlimited  capacity  for 
whisky.  In  his  belt  he  carries  —  perhaps  from  force  of 
habit  —  a  heavy  navy  revolver,  before  which  many  a  fierce 
Pleasant  islander  has  gone  down  in  the  bloody  emeutes  so 
common  in  that  wild  spot.     Behind  Bill  is  his  wife  Tiaro 

—  a  fair-skinned  native  of  Taputanea  (Drummond's  Island). 
She  is  certainly  the  "savage  woman"  of  the  poet's  fancy 

—  handsome  withal,  as,  with  her  hand  on  her  husband's 
shoulder,  she  gazes  admiringly  at  the  herculean  figure  of 
the  far-famed  Eover  of  the  South  Seas,  the  dreaded  Captain 
of  the  Leonora.  Near  to  or  behind  Tiaro  are  the  other 
traders'  wives,  with  their  wild-eyed,  graceful  children. 

Beside  me,  sitting  upon  a  bundle  of  sleeping  mats,  is  a 
bronzed  and  handsome  young  fellow,  Charlie  Wilder  by 
name,  a  veritable  Adonis  of  the  South  Seas.  With  clear- 
cut  features  and  bright  brown  curling  locks,  contrasting 


MUKDEll    AND    SHIPWRECK  137 

well  with  a  dark,  drooping  moustache,  he  lolls  languidly  on 
the  mats,  gazing  dreamily  at  times  at  the  animated  forms 
and  faces  around  him.  He  was  the  ideal  sea  rover  —  much 
untrammelled  by  the  canons  of  more  civilised  life.  To 
each  of  his  four  young  wives  he  appeared  equally  devoted. 
Though  a  blase,  exquisite  in  manner,  he  was  a  man  who 
simply  laughed  at  wounds  and  death.  A  dangerous  antago- 
nist, too,  as  some  of  his  fellow-traders  had  good  reason  to 
know. 

There  was  yet  another  trader  —  a  tall  young  American, 
who  had  run  away  at  Pleasant  Island  from  the  whaleship 
Seagull  —  a  difference  of  opinion  with  the  captain  having 
resulted  in  Seth's  being  put  in  irons. 

Besides  Dick  Mills  the  boat-steerer,  Avho  had  deserted 
also  from  a  whaler,  there  was  another  well-known  trader, 
a  true  type  of  the  old-time  escaped  convict.  Burnt  browner 
than  a  coffee  berry  is  old  Bob  Ridley,  scarred,  weather- 
beaten,  and,  in  accordance  with  the  fashion  of  runaway 
sailors  in  the  early  days,  tattooed  like  a  Marquesas  islander. 
Very  "  dour  "  and  dangerous  was  this  veteran  —  thinking 
no  more  of  settling  a  difference  with  his  ever-ready  revol- 
ver than  of  filling  his  ancient  clay  pipe.  He  had  with  him 
two  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  married  save  the  youngest 
girl.  Sons  and  daughters  alike  had  intermarried  with 
natives,  and  the  old  man  himself  —  his  first  wife  being 
dead  —  had  possessed  himself  of  a  girl  of  tender  years  but 
unyielding  character.  A  native  of  Rapa-nui  or  Easter 
Island,  she  possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  personal  beauty 
for  which  her  race  is  famed  throughout  Polynesia.  The 
old  trader,  it  seems,  had  lately  visited  Tahiti,  and  there 
had  dropped  across  the  beautiful  Lalia,  and  rescued  her 
from  the  streets  of  Papeite.  When  he  returned  to  Pleasant 
Island  she  accompanied  him.  She  was  a  clever  damsel,  and 
having  once  been  an  inmate  of  the  military  camp  at  Tahiti, 
gave  herself  great  airs  over  her  step-children,  though  she 


138  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

was  the  junior  of  the  youngest  girl.  Amongst  other  accom- 
plishments Lalia  could  swear  fluently  both  in  French  and 
English,  having  besides  a  thorough  command  of  whaleship 
oaths  which,  I  may  observe,  are  unique  in  their  way,  and 
never  seen  in  print. 

Singing  and  dancing  were  kept  up  until  the  galley  fire 
was  lit  and  coffee  served  out.  Then  as  the  tropic  sea-mist 
was  dispelled  by  the  first  sun  rays,  we  saw,  at  no  great 
distance,  the  verdurous  hills  that  enclose  with  emerald  walls 
the  harbour  of  Utwe.  Far  back,  yet  seeming  but  a  cable's 
length  from  the  brig,  rose  the  rugged  coast,  two  thousand 
feet  in  air,  of  Mount  Crozier. 

The  inner  shore  of  the  harbour,  sheltered  by  the  reef  from 
the  fury  of  the  terrific  rollers,  is  surrounded  by  a  broad  belt 
of  darkest  green  mangroves  and  hibiscus,  forming  a  dense 
barrier,  monotonous  in  colouring,  but  blending  harmoni- 
ously with  sea  and  sky.  A  well-nigh  impassable  forest 
coloured  the  landscape  from  sea  to  mountain  top.  Only 
near  the  shore  were  groves  of  cocoa-palms  waving  their 
plumy  banners  to  the  soft  trade  breezes.  Interspersed  at 
intervals  one  descried  plantations  of  bananas  and  sugar- 
cane, yams  and  taro.  The  humidity  of  the  climate  shows 
itself  in  the  surpassing  richness  of  the  vegetation.  Moun- 
tain torrents  foam  and  "rivulets  dance  their  wayward 
round  "  in  many  a  sequestered  glen.  Cane  thickets  spring- 
ing densely  from  the  deep  alluvial  mould  form  a  safe  retreat 
for  the  wild  boar,  while  the  stately  purple  plumaged  pigeons 
preen  themselves  in  the  green  gloom  of  this  paradisal  wild. 

The  Captain  walked  the  quarter-deck,  giving  orders  to 
make  sail  on  the  brig,  glancing  in  a  half  amused,  yet  con- 
temptuous manner  at  the  recumbent  figures  of  the  traders 
who,  overcome  by  their  potations,  lay  slumbering  on  the  deck. 

Utw6  is  but  a  small  harbour,  so  that  the  Captain  felt  vexed 
wlien  daylight  broke  and  revealed  four  whalers  lying  at 
anchor  in  the  little  port,  allowing  us  no  room.     But  one  of 


MURDER   AND   SHIPWRECK    .  139 

them  had  his  canvas  loosed,  and  we  caught  the  strains  of 
"  Shenandoah  "  as  the  crew  lifted  the  anchor.  We  backed 
our  main-yard  and  lay  to,  while  she  sailed  out.  A  fine  sight 
it  was,  as  the  whaler  stood  out  through  the  narrow  passage! 
The  huge  rollers  dashing  swiftly  past  her  weather-beaten 
sides,  made  her  roll  so  heavily  that  the  boats  on  the  davits 
nearly  touched  the  water  with  their  keels.  She  came  close 
under  our  stern.  Her  captain  stood  up  in  one  of  the  boats 
and  took  off  his  hat. 

"How  air  you,  Capt'n?"  he  drawled;  "  that's  a  beautiful 
brig  of  yours.  I've  heard  a  deal  of  the  Leonora  and  Cap- 
tain Hayston.  I'm  real  sorry  I  hav'n't  time  to  board  you 
and  have  a  chat.  There's  another  blubber-hunter  coming 
out  after  me,  so  you'd  better  wait  awhile." 

Hayston  answered  him  politely,  and  the  Marathon  soon 
ran  round  the  lee  side  of  the  island.  In  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  she  was  followed  by  another  ship,  after  which  we  filled 
again  and  ran  in,  anchoring  between  the  mangroves  and  the 
Europa  and  St.  George,  New  Bedford  whaleships. 

Our  first  care  was  to  land  the  cattle,  and  here  the  traders 
and  whalers  were  treated  to  a  lively  scene.  The  mate 
Jansen,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken,  had  been  knocked 
off  duty  by  the  Captain,  who  told  him  that  he  was  no  sea- 
man, and  a  cowardly  dog  besides,  as  he  was  always  ready  to 
ill  treat  the  native  crew,  but  would  not  stand  up  to  him. 

An  incident,  in  which  I  was  an  actor,  goes  to  show  the 
savage  nature  of  the  brute.  One  day,  during  our  stay  at 
Ponap^,  I  happened  to  require  a  pair  of  steelyards  that  lay 
in  his  cabin;  on  going  for  them  he  used  insulting  language, 
and  dared  me  to  enter.  He  was  lying  in  his  bunk,  and  his 
bloodshot  eyes  glared  with  rage  as  he  took  a  pistol  from 
under  his  pillow.  Keeping  one  eye  on  the  pistol  I  went  in 
and  took  the  steelyards.  He  leaped  out,  and  a  struggle 
began.  We  fell  on  the  deck  —  his  whole  weight  upon  me  — 
but  I  managed  to  get  hold  of  the  pistol,  which  I  threw  over- 


140  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

board.  As  he  freed  himself  and  rose,  he  gave  me  a  savage 
kick  on  the  knee  which  lamed  me  for  a  week.  But  I  drew 
back  and  landed  him  a  left-hander,  which  catching  him  fair 
in  the  face,  sent  him  down  senseless,  while  a  stream  of 
blood  poured  from  his  mouth  and  ears. 

"  Malie !  malie !  "  shouted  Black  Johnny  in  Samoau  (the 
equivalent  to  "habet"),  and  the  crew  took  up  the  cry  in 
tones  of  deep  approval. 

We  never  spoke  again  after  this  encounter. 

However,  just  before  we  made  ready  to  land  the  cattle, 
he  came  aft  and  begged  the  Captain  to  reinstate  him. 

"Mr.  Jansen!"  said  Hayston,  "I  cannot  permit  you  to 
resume  duty  as  mate  of  this  brig.  I  have  given  the  position 
to  Fiji  Bill,  as  you  are  not  fit  for  it.  However,  I  will  see 
how  you  behave  for  the  future,  and  may  give  you  another 
chance.  Go  on  deck  and  assist  to  get  these  cattle  into  the 
water." 

The  traders  and  whalers  were  watching  the  operation 
with  great  interest.  The  longboat,  in  charge  of  Fiji  Billy, 
was  ready  to  tow  the  cattle  on  shore  as  soon  as  they  were 
lowered  into  the  water.  The  first  beast  was  swung  safely 
out  of  the  main  hold  and  over  the  side,  when  the  tackle 
parted  aloft  and  the  animal  plunged  into  the  sea,  just  miss- 
ing the  boat.  For  a  moment  there  was  silence.  We  all  ran 
to  the  side,  where  we  saw  the  bullock  reappear  and  strike 
bravely  out  for  the  mangroves,  which  he  reached  in  safety. 

The  Captain  walked  slowly  over  to  Jansen,  who  was 
engaged  in  bullying  the  boatswain. 

''Who  rigged  that  tackle?"  he  asked  in  his  most  un- 
ruffled tones ;  but  I  could  see  the  colour  mounting  to  his 
forehead,  as  the  laughter  of  the  whaling  crews  fell  upon 
his  ear. 

"1  did,"  growled  Jansen  (edging  towards  his  cabin,  in 
which  he  always  kept  loaded  firearms),  his  sullen  face 
showing  fear  and  hatred  combined. 


MURDER   AND   SHIPWRECK  141 

"Keep  to  the  deck,  sir,"  broke  forth  the  Captain,  who 
had  foreseen  this  movement;  the  harsh,  severe  tones  I 
knew  foretold  disaster.  "  D — n  you,  sir,  you  are  neither 
good  enough  for  an  officer  nor  man  before  the  mast.  There 
is  not  a  kanaka  on  board  this  brig  but  coukl  have  rigged 
that  tackle  in  a  seaman-like  manner.  Boy  George,  or  even 
one  of  the  girls,  could  have  made  a  better  fist  of  it.  You 
have  disgraced  the  brig  in  the  presence  of  other  ships.  Go 
to  your  bunk  till  after  breakfast." 

And  now  Jansen  brought  immediate  punishment  on  him- 
self. With  one  hand  on  the  door  of  the  deckhouse,  he 
turned  round  and  muttered,  "Why  didn't  you  let  the 
women  do  it,  then?  " 

The  next  moment  both  men  were  struggling  fiercely  on 
the  deck, —  Jansen  making  frantic  efforts  to  fire  a  pistol  he 
had  concealed  in  the  bosom  of  his  shirt;  but  the  hand 
which  held  it  was  gripped  by  the  Captain,  and  the  muzzle 
pointed  upwards. 

Jansen  was  an  extremely  powerful  man,  and,  amid  the 
babel  of  tongues  that  were  let  loose,  I  heard  one  trader 
say,  "By !  he's  got  the  best  of  the  Captain." 

But  I  noticed  that  while  Jansen  was  almost  spent,  and 
was  breathing  stertorously,  the  Captain  had  not  yet  put 
forth  the  tremendous  strength  which,  on  sea  or  shore,  I 
never  saw  equalled.  He  was  still  holding  Jansen's  hand 
with  a  vice-like  grasp,  when  the  pistol  fell  to  the  deck. 
Suddenly  freeing  himself,  he  stepped  back  and  dealt  two 
blows  with  wonderful  quickness  on  the  mate's  face,  cutting 
his  forehead  and  cheek  to  the  bone.  The  man  staggered 
wildly  —  his  features  streaming  with  blood  —  then  fell 
senseless  against  one  of  the  crew,  who  darted  aside  and  let 
him  drop  on  the  deck.  A  murmur  of  applause,  mingled 
with  cries  of  pity  from  the  women,  arose  from  the  specta- 
tors, while  the  whaler  crews  rent  the  air  with  cheers  for 
"Bully  Hayston." 


142  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

The  Captain  drew  forth  his  handkerchief,  with  which  he 
removed  a  slight  stain  upon  his  face,  then  said  in  a  mild 
and  pleasant  voice,  as  if  nothing  had  occurred,  "  Steward ! 
bring  me  a  glass  of  water.  Bill  (to  the  Fijian)  get  these 
other  beasts  up  and  put  them  ashore.  Antonio!  get  Jan- 
sen's  traps  together,  and  put  them  and  him  into  the  boat. 
The  man  that  points  a  pistol  at  me  on  board  of  this  brig 
only  does  it  once.  As  I  don't  wish  to  hurt  him  again,  I 
must  get  rid  of  him." 

The  cattle  were  soon  landed  and  eating  their  fill  on  the 
rich  tract  of  littoral  between  Utwe  and  Coquille. 

That  day  I  bought  various  articles  of  trade  —  including 
ten  tons  of  yams  for  Arrecifos.  The  Captain  never  inter- 
fered with  my  dealings  with  the  natives ;  so  when  Likiak 
Sa  the  missionary  went  to  him,  and  in  a  whining  tone  com- 
plained of  my  paying  them  in  trade,  he  got  the  following 
answer :  "  Don't  want  your  people  to  be  paid  in  trade,  don't 
you?  Precisely  so!  you  white  chokered  schemer  —  you 
whited  sepulchre!  you  want  to  see  these  hard-working 
slaves  of  natives  paid  in  cash,  so  that  joxi  and  your  breth- 
ren may  rob  the  poor  devils  of  every  dollar  for  church 
tithes.  The  supercargo  has  my  fullest  confidence,  and  will 
not  rob  any  native  of  a  cent.     Go  and  talk  to  him." 

The  missionary  came  to  the  trade-room,  where  I  was  sell- 
ing pigeon  shot  and  powder  to  a  man  named  Sree,  and  said 
that  he  wished  the  natives  paid  in  cash.  Every  Strong's 
islander  can  speak  English.  So  I  turned  to  those  present 
and  asked  if  I  had  suggested  their  taking  trade  instead  of 
dollars.  On  receiving  this  answer  in  the  negative  I  told 
him  to  clear  out.  He  disregarded  me,  upon  which  I  assisted 
him  to  leave  the  cabin,  while  Lalia  and  Kitty  covered  him 
with  flour  from  the  pantry. 

This  provided  me  with  a  persistent  and  bitter  enemy. 

About  six  o'clock  the  Captain  went  below,  but  rather 
hastily  returned,  casting  an  anxious  look  to  seaward.     "  The 


MURDER    AND   SHIPWRECK  143 

glass  is  falling  fast,"  he  said,  "  I  can't  make  it  out.  I  have 
never  known  it  to  blow  hard  here  at  this  time  of  year. 
Still  it  is  banking  up  to  the  westward." 

He  hailed  the  whaleships,  and  saw  that  they  had  also 
noticed  the  glass  falling.  In  a  few  minutes  the  two  cap- 
tains boarded  us  to  have  a  consultation.  The  heavy,  lower- 
ing cloud  to  seaward  had  deepened  in  gloom,  and  the  three 
captains  gazed  anxiously  at  it. 

"Gentlemen!"  said  Hayston,  "we  are  in  a  bad  place  if 
it  comes  on  to  blow.  The  land-breeze  has  died  away,  and 
that  it  is  going  to  blow  from  the  sou' -west  I  am  convinced. 
We  cannot  tow  out  in  the  face  of  such  a  swell,  even  if 
we  had  daylight  to  try  it.  To  beat  out  by  night  would  be 
madness." 

The  faces  of  the  Yankee  skippers  lengthened  visibly  as 
they  begged  Hayston  to  make  a  suggestion. 

"Well,"  he  said  at  length,  "your  ships  may  ride  out  a 
blow,  for  you've  room  to  swing  in,  and  if  you  send  down 
your  light  spars  and  be  quick  about  it,  and  your  cables 
don't  part,  you'll  see  daylight.  But  with  nie  it  is  differ- 
ent. I  cannot  give  the  brig  a  fathom  more  cable;  there 
are  coral  boulders  all  around  us,  and  the  first  one  she 
touches  will  knock  a  hole  in  her  bottom.  But  now  every 
man  must  look  to  himself.  I  have  two  hundred  people  on 
board,  and  my  decks  are  lumbered  up  with  them.  Adios ! 
gentlemen,  go  on  board  and  get  your  spars  down  for  God's 
sake." 

Then  the  Captain  turned  all  his  attention  to  getting  the 
brig  ready  for  the  storm  that  was  even  then  close  upon  us. 
In  the  shortest  time  our  royal  and  topgallant  yards  were 
down,  the  decks  cleared  of  lumber,  the  native  passengers 
sent  below,  and  five  fathoms  of  cable  hove  in.  Hayston 
knew  the  brig  would  swing  round  with  her  head  to  the  pas- 
sage as  soon  as  the  gale  struck  her,  and  unless  he  hove  in 
cable,  must  strike  on  one  of  the  boulders  he  had  spoken  of. 


144  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

As  yet  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air,  for  after  the  last 
whisper  of  the  land-breeze  had  died  away,  the  atmosphere 
became  surcharged  with  electricity,  and  the  rollers  com- 
menced to  sound  a  ceaseless  thunder,  as  they  dashed  them- 
selves upon  the  reef,  such  as  I  had  never  heard  before.  A 
pall  of  darkness  settled  over  us,  and  though  the  whale- 
ships  were  so  near  that  the  voices  of  their  crews  sounded 
strange  and  ghostlike  in  our  ears,  we  could  see  nothing 
except  the  dull  glow  of  the  lamps  alight  in  the  cabins  — 
showing  through  the  ports. 

Then  we  heard  the  voice  of  Captain  Grant  of  the  >S'^ 
George,  "  Stand  by.  Captain  Hayston,  it's  coming  along  as 
solid  as  a  wall." 

A  fierce  gust  whistled  through  the  cordage,  and  then  a 
great  white  cloud  of  rain,  salt  spume,  and  spray  enveloped 
the  brig,  as  with  a  shrill,  humming  drone,  like  a  thousand 
bagpipes  in  full  blast,  the  full  force  of  the  gale  struck  us. 
The  brig  heeled  over,  then  swung  quickly  round  to  her 
anchor,  while  the  crew,  every  man  at  his  station,  sought 
through  the  inky  blackness  that  followed  the  rain  squall  to 
see  how  the  whaleships  fared. 

But  now  the  darkness  deepened,  if  such  were  possible. 
No  star  shone  through  the  funereal  gloom;  while  the  enor- 
mous rollers,  impelled  by  the  increasing  force  of  the  wind, 
swept  in  quickest  succession  through  the  narrow  passage. 
The  three  ships  rolled  heavily. 

"  Harry ! "  called  out  the  Captain  to  the  oldest  trader, 
''take  your  boats  and  land  as  many  of  the  people  as  you 
can.  The  sea  is  getting  up  fast  —  in  half-an-hour  it  will 
be  breaking  aboard  the  brig." 

The  traders'  boats  were  made  fast  to  the  ship's  stern, 
except  two  on  deck. 

These  were  now  hauled  alongside,  and  old  Harry,  with 
his  four  stalwart  sons  —  splendid  fellows  they  were  physi- 
cally —  manned  one,  and  taking  about  fifty  of  their  follow- 


MURDER   AND    SHIPWRECK  145 

ers,  who  sprang  over  the  side  and  were  hauled  into  the  boat, 
the  sons  gave  a  wild  shout  and  disappeared  into  the  dark- 
ness. 

The  other  boat  was  equally  lucky  in  not  being  stove  in. 
Pleasant  Island  Bill  was  in  chai-ge,  and  in  a  lull  of  the 
wind  I  heard  him  call  out  to  those  on  deck  to  throw  the 
women  overboard  and  he  would  pick  them  up. 

Five  or  six  of  them  leaped  overboard  and,  swimming  like 
otters,  gained  the  boat;  many  others  naturally  held  back. 
Standing  on  the  deck  clinging  to  the  Captain's  knees  were 
the  two  children,  Toby  and  Kitty.  Seizing  Kitty  in  his 
arms  the  Captain  tossed  her  into  the  black  waters  close  to 
the  boat,  where  one  of  the  crew  caught  her  by  the  hair  and 
pulled  her  in.  Toby  gave  a  yell  of  alarm  and  tried  to  dart 
below,  but  I  caught  him  and  slung  him  over  after  Kitty. 
Bill  nearly  missed  catching  him  as  he  rose  to  the  surface, 
but  he  was  taken  in.  Then  the  boat  headed  for  the  shore, 
now  only  discernible  by  the  white  line  of  foam  breaking 
into  the  mangroves. 

And  now  our  troubles  recommenced.  The  waters  of  the 
harbour,  generally  placid  as  a  mill-pond,  were  now  running 
mountains  high,  so  quickly  had  the  sea  got  up.  The  Cap- 
tain, who  was  standing  at  the  stern  sounding,  and  appar- 
ently as  cool  as  if  he  were  trout  fishing,  beckoned  me  to 
him,  and  placing  his  mouth  to  my  ear,  shouted  — 

"  Four  fathoms  under  our  stern  —  little  enough  if  the  sea 
gets  worse.  But  if  the  wind  hauls  another  point  we'll 
touch  that  big  coral  mushroom  on  the  port  quarter,  and  then 
it's  good-bye  to  the  Leonora ! " 

The  words  had  hardly  left  his  lips  when  a  strange  and 
awful  lull  of  the  wind  occurred,  rendering  more  intense  the 
enshrouding  darkness,  more  dread  and  distinct  the  seeth- 
ing wash  and  roar  of  the  seas  that  broke  on  the  weather 
reef. 

The  Captain  sprang  into  the  main  rigging  and  held  up 


14G  A    MODEIlN    BUCCANEER 

his  hand  to  feel  if  the  wind  Avas  coming  from  a  new  quar- 
ter. For  some  minutes  the  brig  rolled  so  madly  that  it  was 
all  he  could  do  to  hold  on. 

Then  his  strong,  fearless  voice  sounded  out:  "Men! 
who  will  man  a  boat  to  take  a  line  to  the  Europa?  If  I 
can  get  a  hawser  to  the  whaler  to  keep  the  brig's  stern  from 
this  boulder  under  our  port  quarter,  it  may  save  the  ship. 
If  not,  we  must  strike.  There's  a  lull  now,  and  a  boat 
could  get  away." 

After  a  momentary  hesitation,  Antonio  the  Portuguese, 
Johnny  Tilton,  and  two  natives  volunteered. 

"  Good  lads !  "  cried  the  Captain ;  "  stand  by,  men,  to 
lower  away  the  whaleboat."  In  a  few  minutes  she  was  in 
the  water,  and  a  whale-line  made  fast  to  a  stout  hawser 
was  coiled  away  in  the  bow,  as  with  an  encouraging  cheer 
from  those  on  deck,  the  men  gave  way,  and  passing  under 
our  stern  made  for  the  Europa. 

After  twenty  minutes  of  anxiety,  for  we  could  see  noth- 
ing, nor  tell  whether  the  boat  had  reached  the  Europa 
safely  or  been  stove  in  alongside,  we  saw  her  dart  past  the 
stern  again,  and  Antonio  called  out,  "All  right,  Captain, 
heave  away  on  the  hawser,  the  end  's  fast  to  the  Europa.'' 

"Well  done,  lads!"  cried  the  Captain;  "but  stay  where 
you  are,  and  I'll  get  some  more  women  on  shore." 

The  strange  lull  still  continued,  but  a  lurid  glare  showed 
me  the  glass  still  falling  steadily ;  when  I  told  the  Captain 
this  he  sighed,  for  he  knew  that  our  best  chance  of  safety 
was  gone.     But  he  was  a  man  of  action. 

"Go  below,  Hilary!"  he  said  quietly,  "and  get  all  the 
papers,  letters,  and  articles  of  value  together  —  I'll  send 
them  on  shore  with  the  women." 

In  the  cabin  were  eight  or  ten  women ;  they  gazed  at  me 
with  terror-stricken  faces.  "On  deck,  Mary!"  I  said. 
"On  deck  all  of  you!  there's  a  boat  alongside,  and  some  of 
you  can  get  ashore." 


MURDER   AND   SHIPWRECK  147 

Five  of  tliem,  with  old  Mary,  at  once  left  the  cabin,  and 
I  heard  their  wild  cries  and  screams  of  alarm  as  they  were 
seized  by  the  Captain  and  crew,  and  thrown  overboard  to 
be  picked  up  by  the  boat. 

Lalia  and  the  others  remained  in  the  cabin,  clinging  to 
each  other  and  sobbing  with  fear. 

I  picked  up  a  heavy  trade  chest,  and  laying  mats  and 
rugs  along  the  bottom  and  sides,  stowed  into  it  the  chro- 
nometers, a  couple  of  sextants,  charts,  and  what  gold  and 
silver  coin  was  in  the  Captain's  secretary;  also  as  many 
Winchester  carbines  and  cartridges  as  it  would  hold. 

"Here,  girls!  help  me  carry  this  on  deck,"  I  said  in 
Samoan  to  Lalia,  who  understood  the  language.  We 
dragged  the  heavy  box  on  deck,  and,  by  wonderful  good 
luck,  it  Avas  lowered  into  the  boat,  which  was  now  under 
the  ship's  quarter,  and  in  imminent  danger  of  being 
stove  in. 

The  Captain  desired  me  to  go  ashore  in  the  longboat  and 
take  charge  of  tlie  boat.  I  was  just  about  to  jump  when 
the  brig  gave  a  fearful  plunge^  and  before  she  could  re- 
cover, a  heavy  roller  crashed  over  the  waist  and  nearly 
smothered  me.  By  clinging  to  the  iron  boat  davits  near 
me,  I  managed  to  save  myself  from  being  carried  over- 
board with  the  debris  of  spars  and  timber  that  swept  aft. 
When  I  regained  my  breath  I  could  see  nothing  of  the  boat. 
She  had,  however,  been  swept  ashore,  and  all  in  her  landed 
safely  except  Bill,  who  was  knocked  overboard,  but  washed 
up  into  the  mangroves. 

I  felt  the  Captain's  hand  on  my  shoulder,  as  he  asked 
me  if  I  thought. the  boat  had  gone  under. 

"I  think  not,  or  we  should  have  heard  some  of  them 
calling  out;  they  can  all  swim." 

"Well,  perhaps  so,"  he  replied,  "but  I  fear  not.  I 
don't  care  a  cent  about  the  loss  of  the  dollars,  but  Bill  is  a 
good  fellow." 


148  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Lalia  had  clung  to  the  davits  with  me  when  the  sea 
struck  us,  and  was  now  almost  exhausted.  So  with  the 
Captain's  help  I  carried  her  below  into  the  now  deserted 
cabin,  for  the  other  women  were  gone;  had,  I  supposed, 
been  washed  overboard,  for  they  were  standing  with  us 
when  we  lowered  the  chest. 

The  Captain  then  hastened  on  deck,  telling  me  that  the 
wind  was  coming  away  from  the  south.  He  had  scarcely 
left  me  when  I  heard  the  dismal  drone  of  the  gale  again, 
and  his  voice  shouting  to  the  carpenter  to  stand  by  and  cut 
away  the  masts,  for  the  seas  were  now  breaking  clean  over 
the  bows,  and  sweeping  along  the  decks  with  resistless  force. 

Being  almost  hove  short,  the  ship  could  not  rise  quickly 
enough  to  the  seas,  and  was  besides  rolling  so  much  that  she 
threatened  to  turn  turtle  every  minute.  It  was  impossible 
for  any  one  to  cross  the  deck,  so  madly  was  the  brig  roll- 
ing, and  so  fiercely  were  the  seas  sweeping  her  decks  in 
quick  succession;  and  so  for  a  while  all  hands  waited  till  a 
better  chance  offered  to  cut  away. 

In  the  mean  time  I  had  dragged  out  another  trade  chest, 
and  first  securing  my  own  papers  and  placing  them  in  the 
bottom,  I  filled  it  with  such  articles  as  I  thought  would 
prove  valuable  if  we  did  not  save  the  ship. 

Lalia  rendered  me  great  assistance  now.  I  filled  a  wine- 
glass of  brandy  from  the  decanter,  and  made  her  drink  it, 
for  her  teeth  were  chattering,  and  her  lips  blue  with  cold 
and  terror  combined. 

Together  we  managed  to  get  the  chest  half-way  up  the 
companion,  when  another  plunge  made  me  sli^j,  and  the 
heavy  box  jammed  the  girl's  feet  against  the  side  of 
the  companion  lining.  I  called  loudly  for  help,  as  I  could 
not  extricate  her  from  under  the  box.  Fortunately,  four 
native  seamen  heard  me,  and  lifted  the  chest  off  her  legs. 

Then  I  heard  the  Captain's  voice  calling  out,  "Well 
done,  boys !     Rotumah  men,  brave  fellows,  in  a  boat !  " 


MURDER   AND   SHIPWRECK  149 

Carrying  the  girl  below  again,  I  dropped  her  in  the  stew- 
ard's cabin,  told  her  to  stay  there  till  I  came  back,  and  ran 
on  deck. 

The  Captain  met  me,  and,  pointing  to  a  dark,  indistinct 
mass,  rising  and  falling  near  the  ship's  stern,  said,  "There's 
real  grit  for  you !  " 

It  was  one  of  the  trader's  whaleboats,  manned  by  four 
Rotumah  men  and  a  native  of  Danger  Island.  Two  of 
these  brave  fellows  had  been  washed  ashore  in  the  second 
sea  that  had  struck  us,  and  with  three  others,  who  had 
reached  the  mangroves  in  another  boat,  had  put  out  again 
to  return  to  the  brig  and  save  their  shipmates. 

The  Captain  now  called  out  to- those  who  were  left  on 
board,  and  told  them  that  there  was  a  chance  of  some  of 
them  getting  ashore,  by  jumping  over  as  the  boat  approached 
and  getting  into  her.  As  for  himself,  if  three  or  four  good 
men  would  stand  by  him,  he  would  attempt  to  cut  away  the 
masts,  and  perhaps  save  the  ship  as  the  hawser  was  made 
fast  to  the  Eurojya. 

It  was  a  new  one,  and  might  not  part;  but  if  it  did, 
nothing  could  help  the  brig  from  sticking  on  the  detached 
coral  boulders  that  lay  so  close  under  the  stern. 

Seizing  her  child  in  her  arms,  a  powerfully-built  Ocean 
Island  woman  sprang  into  the  seething  foam-caldron,  and 
disregarding  our  cries  to  make  for  the  boat,  struck  out  for 
the  nearest  point  of  the  mangroves.  Next  morning  the 
child  was  found  unharmed  on  a  small  beach,  more  than  a 
mile  away,  and  the  body  of  the  mother  lying  dead  beside 
her,  with  a  fearful  gash  on  her  temple  and  one  foot  miss- 
ing,—  the  poor  babe  gazing  at  the  cold  face,  and  wondering 
why  she  did  not  wake  when  she  called  to  her.  Then  others 
followed  the  women,  some  getting  into  the  boat,  and  others 
letting  the  sea  take  them  in  the  direction  of  the  shore. 

"Where  is  the  second  mate?  "  shouted  the  Captain  to  the 
coxswain  of  the  rescuing  boat. 


150  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

"On  shore  with  the  traders,  sir;  all  the  boats  but  one 
are  stove  in  on  the  beach,  and  he  can't  get  out  again." 

"All  right,  lads,  don't  attempt  to  come  out  again;  but 
wait  a  minute."  Then  turning  to  me,  "You  must  go 
ashore  now  in  this  boat.  She  has  not  many  in  her;  and  if 
her  head  is  kept  right  into  the  break  between  the  moun- 
tains she'll  run  up  into  the  mangroves." 

But  I  said  I  would  take  my  chance  with  the  ship.  1  was 
a  good  swimmer,  and  in  that  time  of  danger,  even  despair, 
I  could  not  leave  the  Captain. 

He  pressed  my  hand  silently,  then  called  out,  "  All  right, 
men,  give  way,  the  supercargo  stays  with  me  and  the  ship  " ; 
one  dash  of  the  oars,  a  wailing  cry,  a  shout  which  out- 
toned  it,  and  the  boat  disappeared,  as  if  swallowed  up  by 
the  darkness  or  the  deep. 

We  were  not  clustered  together  aft.  Those  of  the  crew 
that  had  stood  by  the  ship  were  hanging  on  to  the  main , 
rigging.  The  Captain,  who  had  hitherto  intended  cutting 
away  both  masts  at  once,  told  me  he  fancied  the  ship  was 
straining  and  plunging  less;  and  that  he  would  only  cut 
away  as  a  last  resource. 

Suddenly  he  bent  his  glance  at  the  hawser  that  was  made 
fast  to  the  Europa,  and  then  pointed  over  to  the  seething 
water  under  our  stern.  I  saw  we  were  almost  over  a  Imge 
coral  boulder,  which  every  now  and  then  showed  itself  bare. 

"  By !  those  fellows  on  board  the  Earopa  are  paying 

out  the  hawser.  We  were  fifty  feet  from  that  rock  when 
the  hawser  was  made  fast  and  had  a  strain  on  it,  and  now 
it's  right  under  her  stern.  Can  any  of  you  see  the  whaler's 
cabin  lights  ?  " 

The  men  looked  through  the  blinding  mists  of  spray  that 
flew  in  our  faces,  and  stung  like  whip-lashes  when  the  brig 
was  lifted  high  on  a  towering  sea.  The  hawser  tightened 
like  an  iron  bar,  but  suddenly  fell  as  if  it  had  parted  or 
been  cast  off. 


MUKDER   AND   SHIPWRECK  151 

"  The  cursed  dogs !  "  said  the  Captain,  opening  and  shut- 
ting his  hands  spasmodically,  "they  are  paying  out,  and 
letting  us  go  to  the  devil!  " 

And  now  a  tremendous  sea  swept  along  and  broke  just  as 
it  reached  abreast  the  mainmast.  We  felt  the  brig  strike. 
Sea  after  sea  tumbled  in  over  the  bulwarks,  and  a  solid 
sheet  of  water  broke  over  us  in  the  main  rigging,  sweeping 
three  or  four  men  overboard. 

When  I  cleared  my  throat  of  the  water  I  had  swallowed, 
I  saw  the  Captain  with  a  rifle  in  his  hand,  and  then  fol- 
lowed the  flash  as  he  fired  in  the  direction  of  the  Europa. 

"Captain,"  I  cried,  " what  good  will  that  do?  She  may 
be  ashore  herself  in  as  bad  a  fix  as  we  are." 

He  pushed  me  aside  as  I  placed  my  hand  on  his  arm. 
"Stand  clear,  Hilary!  I  tell  you  these  cowardly  hounds 
are  deliberately  wrecking  me.  That  ship  is  in  a  safe  place, 
and  could  ride  out  a  heavier  gale  than  this." 

"Captain,"  I  began,  when  another  sea  lifted  the  brig's 
bow  high  in  the  air;  then,  with  a  dull  crash,  we  struck 
stern  on,  and  I  saw  the  hawser  had  either  parted  or  been 
cut  away.  The  rudder  had  been  torn  from  the  stern-post, 
and  ripped  its  way  through  the  timbers  with  a  fearful  tear- 
ing sound.  Again  the  Captain's  face  showed  itself  to  me 
almost  as  white  as  the  hell  of  boiling  foam  around  us. 

"My  ship  is  dearer  to  me  than  my  life!  "  he  said,  as  he 
cast  the  rifle  from  him  and  stood  gazing  out  into  the  howl- 
ing storm,  amid  which  all  the  voices  of  earth  and  air  seemed 
to  be  contending. 

Suddenly,  with  a  pang  of  pity,  I  remembered  that  Lalia 
was  in  the  steward's  cabin.  T  dashed  down  below.  Al- 
ready the  water  was  running  into  the  hold,  and  as  I  gained 
the  cabin  the  ship  once  more  struck  violently  under  my 
feet. 

"Lalia!  Lalia!"  I  called,  "come  with  me.  Can  you 
walk?" 


152  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

The  girl  was  sitting  up  in  the  bunk,  her  hair  unloosed, 
her  eyes  dilated  with  terror,  as  she  gazed  into  the  dimly- 
lighted  cabin,  and  saw  the  water  washing  around  it. 

She  could  liardly  stand  with  the  pain  in  her  bruised  feet, 
but  I  lifted  her  out.  Then  she  tore  off  her  dress,  stripped 
to  the  waist,  and,  hand  in  hand,  we  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  companion-way  just  as  a  torrent  of  water  filled  the 
cabin  and  put  out  the  lamps. 

I  felt  the  Captain's  hand  grasp  me  round  the  waist  as  we 
stumbled  out  on  deck,  and  heard  him  say,  "  Hold  on  to  me, 
Hilary !  hold  on  like  grim  death,  my  girl ! "  as  we  were 
swept  along  by  a  sea  against  the  bulwarks  on  the  starboard 
side. 

Some  of  the  men  had  clung  to  a  boat  that  we  carried  on 
top  of  the  deck-house,  which  had  been '  washed  over  the 
side.  They  had  no  oars,  but  the  backwater  from  the  reef 
dashed  her  up  against  the  ship,  and  I  have  an  indistinct 
remembrance  of  the  Captain  dragging  us  along  with  him, 
and  attempting  to  lift  the  girl  up,  when  a  towering  wave 
struck  us  right  amidships  and  drove  us  all  over  together 
on  top  of  the  boat,  which  was  already  stove  in. 

I  should  have  gone  under  then  but  for  Lalia,  for  I  had 
got  a  blow  on  the  side  from  a  piece  of  wreckage.  Any- 
how, what  followed  I  cannot  remember,  for  when  I  came 
to  my  senses  it  was  daylight,  and  I  was  lying  under  some 
cocoa-nut  trees  with  Lalia,  and  one  of  Harry  Skilling's 
native  retainers  named  Karta,  bathing  my  back  with  fresh 

water. 

********* 

My  first  inquiry  was  for  the  Captain,  and  I  was  relieved 
to  hear  from  Lalia  that  he  was  visible  at  that  moment, 
directing  the  crew  to  save  wreckage  from  the  brig.  The 
two  whaleships  had  ridden  out  the  gale  in  safety,  and  the 
Europa  was  already  under  weigh.  I  thought  it  just  as  well 
it  was  so,  for  Hayston  would,  I  am  sure,  have  attempted 
to  seize  her.  ♦ 


MURDER   AND    SHIPWRECK  153 

Lalia  told  me  that  we  clung  to  the  boat  till  she  struck  a 
coral  rock  and  went  to  pieces.  Then  every  one  was  sepa- 
rated. She  had  been  seized  by  Karta,  and,  still  keeping 
hold  of  me,  the  three  of  us  had  come  ashore  together.  She 
said  also  that  my  back  was  badly  cut  with  the  coral.  The 
poor  girl  had  a  terrible  gash  on  her  arm,  and  this  she  had 
neglected  to  attend  to  me.  I  had  a  deep  wound  on  my  face, 
Avhich  caused  me  great  pain,  as  a  piece  of  tough  coral  had 
broken  off  in  it. 

Lalia  was  almost  nude,  and  I  had  only  the  remnants  of 
a  pair  o:^  duck  trousers.  We  did  not  feel  cold,  however,  as 
the  storm  had  ceased,  and  the  sun  was  noAV  shining  brightly. 
The  wind  had  gone  down,  and  the  harbour  was  nearly  as 
smooth  as  a  mountain  lake.  The  only  visible  sign  of  the 
disaster  of  the  night  was  the  maintopmast  of  the  Leonora, 
showing  where  she  had  gone  down. 

From  the  bank  of  mangroves  on  which  we  were  located 
there  was  no  access  to  the  village  of  Utwe,  where  the  rest 
of  the  ship's  company  were.  Deep  channels  separated  the 
two  portions  of  the  harbour.  Karta  was  about  to  swim 
over  to  tell  the  Captain  where  I  was,  when  Lalia  caught 
him  by  the  arm  and  pointed  to  the  water.  I  have  read  a 
good  many  tall  yarns  about  sharks,  but  never  till  now 
could  I  believe  in  their  being  as  numerous  as  a  shoal  of 
minnows. 

The  channels  were  simply  alive  with  the  brutes  dashing 
to  and  fro,  lashing  the  water  into  foam,  and  contesting 
with  each  other  for  dark  objects  floating  near  the  surface. 
I  shuddered  instinctively,  but  Lalia  laughed,  and  explained 
that  the  dead  bodies  were  those  of  pigs  washed  overboard 
from  the  brig. 

Presently  the  tall  figure  of  Karta  attracted  the  notice  of 
some  of  the  people  on  the  other  side,  and  Lalia  said  the 
"ariki  vaka"  was  coming  over  to  us  in  one  of  the  traders' 
whaleboats. 


154  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

The  Captain  sprang  out  of  the  boat,  and  seeing  me  lying 
down  with  my  head  in  the  girl's  lap  thought  I  was  dead. 

"My  dear  boy, "he  said,  taking  both  my  hands  and  press- 
ing them,  "are  you  badly  hurt?" 

I  showed  him  my  back,  and  said  1  felt  most  pain  in  my 
side,  and  wherevipon  I  suffered  ten  excruciating  pains  in 
one  as  he  extracted  the  piece  of  flat  coral  from  my  face. 
He  then  called  one  of  the  boat's  crew,  and  told  him  to  take 
off  his  shirt,  one  sleeve  of  which  he  tore  off  and  bound  up 
Lalia's  arm.  He  then  gave  her  the  mutilated  garment  to 
cover  her  bare  body,  saying  in  his  old  cheerful  manner  that 
her  husband  was  all  right,  and  was  out  searching  the 
beaches  for  her.  She  made  a  gesture  of  indifference,  and 
then  fainted  away.  As  soon  as  she  revived  she  was  lifted 
into  the  boat,  and  we  pushed  off  for  the  village. 

The  Captain  kept  pressing  my  hand  all  the  way  over,  and 
told  me  that  since  daylight  he  had  been  looking  among  the 
wreckage  coming  ashore  and  searching  the  beach  for  me, 
when  some  one  saw  our  three  figures  in  the  cocoa-nut  grove, 
and  said  two  were  white.  Hayston  knew  this  must  be 
Lalia  and  myself,  as  she  had  a  very  fair  skin.  He  was 
sincerely  pleased  at  my  escape,  and  no  words  need  express 
my  relief  at  his  safety. 

He  took  us  forthwith  to  one  of  the  villagers'  houses,  and 
told  the  people  to  attend  to  us,  and  see  that  we  wanted  for 
nothing.  He  further  insisted  that  I  should  not  attempt  to 
render  him  any  assistance  until  I  was  perfectly  recovered. 
I  could  only  nod  acquiescence,  as  my  side  was  paining  me 
terribly. 

A  warm  grasp  of  my  hand  and  a  kind  look  to  Lalia  and 
he  was  gone. 

One  of  the  Kusaie  women  in  the  house  told  us  that  a 
message  had  gone  up  to  the  king,  and  that  a  native  doctor 
named  Srulik  would  soon  come  down  and  cure  my  back  with 
leaves  in  the  island  fashion.     She  also  informed  Lalia  that 


MUKDEU   AND   SHIPWRECK  155 

her  husband  had  gone  away  in  a  canoe  to  look  for  her 
body,  with  two  natives,  but  that  he  had  come  across  a  case 
of  ^n,  and  was  now  dead  drunk  on  the  opposite  side  of 
Utwe.  It  is  hardly  to  be  expected  that  a  young  girl  could 
feel  love  for  a  man  of  her  husband's  years;  but  tears  of 
humiliation  coursed  down  her  cheeks  when  the  woman 
added  that  he  had  already  asked  an  Ocean  Island  girl  to  be 
wife  to  him. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  messengers  arrived 
from  Lele  with  a  message  of  regret  from  the  king  to  Cap- 
tain Hayston,  and  an  invitation  for  me  to  Chabral  harbour, 
so  that  I  could  get  better  quickly;  and  he  could  send  his 
own  boat  for  me.  But  I  did  not  want  to  be  separated  from 
the  Captain,  and  said  I  would  come  and  visit  him  when  I 
got  permission. 

Queen  Se  sent  me  a  large  basket  of  cooked  pigeons  and 
fruit.  Taking  out  a  few  for  myself  and  Lalia,  I  sent  the 
rest  to  the  Captain,  who  was  glad  of  them  for  his  weary 
and  hungry  men. 

For  the  next  few  days  I  suffered  fearfully  with  the  pain 
in  my  side,  and  though  the  Captain  visited  me  twice  a  day, 
and  tried  all  he  could  to  cheer  me  up,  I  fell  into  a  hopeless 
state  of  despondency.  All  the  time  Lalia  had  remained  in 
the  house,  her  husband,  not  having  iinished  the  case  of 
gin,  never  coming  near  her.  Her  stepsons  and  daughters 
disliked  her,  and  therefore  avoided  the  house  where  we 
were  staying. 

The  Captain  told  me  that  her  arm  was  cut  to  the  bone, 
and  that  the  trade  chest  that  had  fallen  against  her  had  in- 
jured one  foot  badly.  Never  as  long  as  I  live  shall  I  forget 
the  unwearied  attention  and  kindness  which  the  poor  girl 
showed  me  during  our  stay  in  the  village.  Though  lame, 
and  with  only  the  use  of  one  arm,  she  never  left  my  side, 
and  strove  by  every  means  in  her  power  to  allay  the  agony 
I  endured  —  answering  to  my  petulance  and  irritability 
only  with  smiles  and  kind  words. 


156  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

The  Captain  told  me  that  he  had  saved  a  good  many  arti- 
cles from  the  wreck;  that  the  big  trade  chest  had  come 
ashore,  and  that  the  money  and  firearms  were  in  a  safe 
place.  A  quantity  of  liquor  had  also  been  saved,  and 
already  some  fierce  fights  had  taken  place,  but  the  traders 
had  in  most  instances  behaved  well,  and  assisted  him  to 
maintain  order.  He  told  me  also  that  Lalia's  husband  had 
taken  away  a  lot  of  liquor  into  the  impassable  forest  that 
lines  the  north  side  of  Utwe,  and,  with  two  of  his  sons  and 
several  women,  was  having  a  big  carouse. 

"The  virtuous  and  Christian  Strong's  islanders  had,"  he 
said,  "  stolen  about  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  trade  that 
had  been  washed  ashore.  But,"  he  added  quietly,  "I'll 
talk  to  them  like  a  father  as  soon  as  I  get  a  house  built, 
and  knock  the  devil  out  of  those  Pleasant  islanders  besides. 
They  seem  disposed  to  cut  all  our  throats." 

A  couple  of  days  after  this,  Hayston  came  to  me  with  a 
letter  from  Lalia's  husband,  which  he  handed  to  me.  I 
don't  know  whether  amusement  or  indignation  predomi- 
nated as  I  read  it,  written  as  it  was  on  a  piece  of  account 
paper. 

Strong's  Island,  March  11th. 
Supercargo  Leonora  Brig. 

Dear  Friend.  —  I  heer  my  wife  have  took  up  with  you,  and  say 
she  do'ent  want  anny  mo-ar  truck  with  her  lawful  husban.  Captin 
Hayston  say  No,  but  she  must  be  cotton  strong  to  you,  not  to  come 
to  me  when  I  look  for  her  neerly  one  week  amung  two  thousan  sharks, 
as  I  can  prove,  but  I  bare  you  no  ill-wil,  for  I  got  anuther  wife,  but 
you  must  give  me  the  three  rings  she  ware,  and  I  warn  you  I'm  not 
responsble.  —  I  remane,  yoiir  true  and  sincere  friend. 

P.  8.  —  Lai  can  read  as  well  as  me,  and  you  can  let  her  read  this. 
She  is  a  good  girl,  and  I  bear  no  ill-wil. 

The  Captain  laughed  when  I  read  out  this  precious  docu- 
ment, and  told  me  not  to  take  matters  so  seriously.  He 
then  sat   down   and  chatted  for  half-an-hour,  saying  that 


MURDER    AND   SHIPWRECK  157 

as  soon  as  he  had  finished  saving  tlie  wreckage,  he  had 
called  the  traders  together,  and  laid  certain  proposals  be- 
fore them  to  which  they  had  agreed. 

These  were  that  the  traders  and  their  followers  would 
consider  themselves  under  his  direction,  in  which  case  he 
would  engage  to  provide  food  for  them  during  their  stay- 
on  the  island.  They  were  not  to  have  any  commercial 
dealings  with  the  people  of  Strong's  Island,  and  their 
natives  were  to  assist  the  crew  of  the  Leonora  in  erecting 
houses  for  their  joint  accommodation.  After  which  he 
would  endeavour  to  charter  a  vessel,  probably  a  passing 
whaleship,  to  take  the  whole  lot  of  us  to  Providence  Island. 
Should  no  vessel  call  in  six  months'  time,  he  would  take  a 
boat's  crew  and  make  for  Mille  Lagoon,  six  hundred  miles 
distant.  If  the  ketch  I  had  brought  down  from  Samoa  was 
still  afloat,  he  would  bring  her  back,  and  take  the  people  in 
detachments  to  Providence  Island.  He  feared,  however, 
that  no  more  whalers  would  be  calling  in  for  ten  months, 
as  the  St.  George  and  Europa  were  the  last  of  the  fleet 
which  was  making,  via  Japan,  for  the  Siberian  coast, 
"right  whaling." 

He  left  us  then,  saying  he  had  established  a  little  repub- 
lic on  the  narrow  strip  of  land  that  lay  on  the  sea-side  of 
Utwe  village. 

Then  I  gave  Lalia  the  letter  I  had  received  from  her 
reprobate  husband.  She  read  it  in  silence  and  returned  it 
to  me,  but  I  could  see  that  the  heartless  old  scoundrel's 
words  had  wounded  her  deeply.  She  took  off  some  rings 
from  her  fingers,  and  sent  them  to  the  Captain  to  hand  to 
the  old  man.  "Do  you  think,"  she  said,  "that  I  can  ever 
get  back  to  Rapa-nui?"  (Easter  Island.) 

Her  father,  she  went  on  to  say,  Avas  dead,  and  her  mother 
had  been  among  those  unfortunate  people  who  in  1866  were 
seized  by  three  Peruvian  slavers  and  taken  to  work  the 
guano  deposits  on  the  Chincha  Islands.     She,  when  about 


158  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

fourteen,  had  married  one  of  the  captains  of  one  of  the 
ships  owned  by  the  great  firm  of  Brander  of  Tahiti.  The 
tales  she  told  me  of  his  brutality  and  ill-usage  during  his 
drunken  fits  of  passion  moved  me  to  sincere  pity.  The 
unmitigated  rascal  deliberately  sold  his  child  wife  to  an 
American  (or  a  man  who  called  himself  one),  and  by  him 
she  was  taken  to  San  Francisco  and  delivered  into  yet  more 
hopeless  slavery.  Here  she  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
Tahitian  half-caste.  She  and  this  girl  succeeded  in  escap- 
ing and  paying  their  passages  to  Tahiti,  where  they  landed 
penniless  and  starving. 

********* 

From  Tahiti  she  was  taken  by  her  present  husband. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A    KING    AND    QUEEN 

On  the  next  day  I  walked  to  the  new  village  in  course  of 
formation,  when  I  received  from  whites  and  natives  alike 
a  most  flattering  reception.  Outside  of  the  sandy  spit  a 
solid  sea-wall  of  coral  had  been  built,  the  ground  had  been 
levelled,  and  an  enormous  dwelling-house  erected.  This 
was  the  work  of  the  Ocean  and  Pleasant  islanders.  It  was 
the  Captain's  house,  and  from  a  hole  in  the  gable  floated 
the  starry  banner  of  the  great  Republic.  This  flag  had 
been  the  joint  work  of  Nellie  and  Mila.  It  was  composed 
of  strips  of  white  calico,  navy  blue  and  Turkey  red.  At 
the  further  end  of  the  sea-wall  stood  the  traders'  houses ; 
opposite  the  captains'  were  those  of  their  people.  Every 
one  seemed  busy,  and  the  greatest  animation  pervaded  the 
scene,  while  a  number  of  Strong's  islanders,  squatted  down 
in  front  of  the  big  house,  surveyed  the  operations  with  dis- 
may. They  dreaded,  and  with  good  reason,  the  fierce  and 
intractable  natives  of  Pleasant  Island,  who  would  have 
been  only  too  pleased  to  have  cut  their  throats  and  taken 
possession  of  their  beautiful  home  altogether. 

I  was  received  by  the  Captain  at  the  door  of  his  house, 
and  although  the  girls  had  frequently  been  to  visit  me, 
and  bring  fruit  and  fish  from  the  Captain  Avhen  I  was  sick, 
I  was  made  as  much  of  as  if  I  had  been  dead  and  buried 
and  come  to  life  again.  The  Captain's  merry  blue  eyes 
looked  searchingly  into  mine,  as  I  seated  myself  in  an  easy 
chair,  "You  see  what  it  is  to  be  Vami  du  maison.^' 

169 


160  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

I  acknowledged  the  compliment,  and  then  turned  to  shake 
hands  with  little  Toby,  who  with  a  number  of  other  chil- 
dren were  being  entertained  by  a  sort  of  pig  and  yam  tea- 
party  by  the  Captain,  each  youngster  having  in  his  hand  a 
junk  of  yam  and  piece  of  pork. 

Those  of  the  crew  who  were  in  the  vicinity  now  came  in, 
and  I  had  quite  a  levee.  Black  Johnny  nearly  wrung  my 
hand  off.  I  was  glad  to  see  the  Captain  looking  so  bright, 
and  evidently  on  such  good  terms  with  those  around  him, 
I  could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  way  in  which  the  traders, 
resolute  and  determined  men  themselves,  deferred  to  his 
slightest  wish. 

For  a  few  minutes  he  walked  up  and  down  the  long  matted 
floor,  apparently  lost  in  thought,  while  I  sat  and  talked 
with  the  light-hearted,  merry  creatures  around  me.  Sud- 
denly stopping,  he  came  up,  and  placed  his  hand  on  my 
shoulder. 

"Hilary!  I  like  this  island  so  well,  that  as  Henry  the 
Fifth  said  in  France,  when  the  French  queen  asked  him 
how  he  liked  her  country:  I  mean  to  keep  it." 

"Captain,"  1  said,  startled  and  alarmed,  "are  you  seri- 
ous?" 

"  Yes  and  no !  If  I  cannot  get  a  ship  to  take  us  to  Provi- 
dence Island  within  six  months  I  will  upset  the  mission- 
aries' apple-cart  and  take  possession  of  the  island.  If  a 
ship  does  call  here,  and  I  can  charter  her,  I  am  bound  in 
honour  to  fulfil  my  promise  to  these  traders." 

"  Captain, "  I  said,  "  there  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  men 
on  Strong's  Island;  surely  you  would  not  dispossess  them? 
Besides,  they  will  fight." 

"  So  much  the  better, "  he  said,  with  a  smile  of  contempt, 
"once  let  a  quarrel  break  out  between  them  and  these 
Ocean  and  Pleasant  islanders,  and  every  native  of  Kusaie 
will  have  his  throat  cut  in  twenty-four  hours." 

I  turned  the  subject,  for  I  saw  by  his  stern  expression 


A    KING    AND   QUEEN  161 

that  he  meant  what  he  said,  and  that  any  trifling  incident 
would  perhaps  bring  matters  to  an  issue. 

Presently  he  began  again.  "  Yes,  these  Pleasant  islanders, 
who  two  weeks  ago  were  all  attached  to  these  traders,  are 
now  heart  and  soul  devoted  to  me.  They  know  I  am  a 
better  man,  according  to  their  ideas,  than  all  the  traders  put 
together,  and  if  I  stepped  out  of  the  house  now  and  told 
them  I  would  lead  them,  they  would  follow  me  and  burn 
old  Tokusar's  town  over  his  head,  cut  off  a  passing  ship,  or 
do  any  other  devilry  such  as  their  bloody  instincts  revel  in." 

I  tried  to  turn  his  thoughts  into  another  channel,  and 
succeeded  so  far  that  when  I  rose  to  return  he  was  laughing 
and  joking  in  his  usual  manner.  He  pointed  out  to  me  a 
separate  part  of  the  house,  and  told  me  that  as  soon  as  I 
liked  to  take  possession  he  would  be  glad  to  see  me  in  it. 

I  explained  to  him  that  for  the  present  I  had  better  remain 
in  the  native  house,  as  the  king  daily  sent  me  food,  and 
considered  me  his  guest.  In  this  he  concurred,  as  he  said 
if  the  king  took  a  liking  to  a  white  man  he  would  live  in 
clover.  He  advised  me  to  go  and  see  him  as  soon  as  I  was 
strong,  or  else  his  dignity  would  be  touched.  Also  that  I 
Avould  find  it  well  to  keep  good  friends  with  Queen  Se. 

When  I  returned  to  the  native  house,  however,  I  felt 
"sick  unto  death,"  and  cast  myself  down  on  the  mats  in 
despair.  The  hurt  I  had  received  in  the  side  seemed  to  have 
also  affected  my  chest,  as  I  could  hardly  breathe  without 
suffering  agonies.  Happily  I  became  unconscious;  when  I 
opened  my  eyes  I  found  the  Captain  beside  my  mat,  and 
during  the  whole  night  he  remained  with  me  and  encouraged 
my  sinking  spirits.  When  daylight  came  he  examined  me 
carefully,  after  which  he  told  me,  that  from  the  darkening 
colour  of  my  skin,  and  the  agony  I  felt  from  the  slightest 
pressure,  he  thought  I  had  received  internal  injury.  He 
therefore  insisted  upon  my  coming  over  to  his  village,  so 
that  I  might  be  under  his  immediate  control.     To  this  I 

M 


162  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

consented  at  last,  although  young  Harry  (as  we  called  Harry 
Waters)  was  eager  that  I  should  come  and  live  with  him  on 
the  north  side  of  Utw^,  where  Haystou  had  formed  a  sub- 
station to  make  oil  and  given  him  charge. 

I  liked  Harry  very  much;  he  was  the  only  one  of  the 
traders  whose  age  approached  my  own.  His  bearing  and 
behaviour,  too,  contrasted  favourably  with  those  of  his 
drunken  and  dissolute  colleagues.  However,  I  had  to 
decline  his  kind  offer,  although,  to  my  amusement,  he 
emphatically  asserted  that  I  would  be  no  trouble  to  him, 
as  he  had  four  wives,  and  Rosa,  the  youngest  of  them,  was 
a  clever  nurse.  I  paid  the  Strong  islanders  who  had 
attended  on  me,  and  then  inquired  of  Lalia  what  she 
intended  to  do?  She  had,  of  course,  no  money  to  pay  the 
people  for  keeping  her,  and  the  old  custom  of  extending 
hospitality  to  strangers  had  naturally  died  out  since  the 
coming  of  the  missionaries. 

I  had  no  other  way  of  showing  my  gratitude  than  by 
offering  her  money.  This  she  refused,  but  said  she  would 
be  glad  to  get  some  clothes  or  material  to  make  them.  I 
gave  a  native  money,  and  sent  him  up  to  Lel^,  where  he 
bought  several  dresses  from  Kitty  of  Ebon,  and  as  she  was 
the  same  height  and  figure  as  Lalia,  they  fitted  her  capitally. 

A  couple  of  days  after  I  had  taken  up  my  quarters  with 
the  Captain  she  came  to  see  me,  and  say  good-bye.  She 
told  me  she  was  going  to  live  at  a  village  near  Lel6,  and 
teach  the  Strong's  Island  women  hat-making,  at  which  she 
was  clever.  She  would  stay  there  till  she  got  tired  of  it. 
I  was  sincerely  sorry,  and  was  not  ashamed  to  show  it, 
"  being  weak  from  my  wound, "  and  hardly  able  to  refrain 
from  tears.  I  felt  quite  pleased  when  the  Captain  came  up 
and  shook  her  little  hand  warmly,  telling  her  that  she 
really  ought  not  to  leave  us.  "  Mind,  Lalia,  come  to  me  if 
you  are  in  any  trouble,  and  I  will  see  you  righted,"  he  said 
in  parting. 


A    KING   AND   QCKEN  163 

"  I  know  that,  Captain!  very  well,"  she  answered,  looking 
up  with  a  strange,  sorrowful  look  in  her  large  bright  eyes, 
"  but  I  must  go  now."  Whereupon  she  walked  slowly  down 
the  beach,  and  getting  into  a  canoe  with  two  Kusaie 
women,  waved  her  hand  and  was  soon  out  of  sight. 

I  recovered  slowly,  but  after  a  while  was  able  to  get  about 
and  to  take  an  inventory  of  the  property  saved,  while  the 
Captain  amused  himself  by  overlooking  the  building  of  a 
large  oil-store.  He  had  demanded  an  immediate  i:)ayment 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cocoa-nuts  from  the  king, 
as  part  indemnity  for  the  property  stolen  by  the  natives 
from  the  wreck.  The  king  dared  not  refuse,  and  now  a 
huge  pile  of  cocoa-nuts  was  accumulating  near  the  oil-shed, 
where  the  Pleasant  islanders  were  daily  scraping  the  nuts 
and  making  oil.  A  number  of  butts  had  come  ashore,  which 
were  utilised  for  the  oil,  so  that  the  village  had  already 
gained  a  settled  look.  About  this  time  the  Captain  gave 
way  to  occasional  bursts  of  passion,  inflicting  severe  beat- 
ings upon  two  of  the  traders,  who  had  got  drunk  and  were 
careering  about  with  rifles  in  their  hands,  threatening  to 
shoot  any  one  that  interfered  with  them. 

He  also  accused  old  Harry  Terry  of  plotting  with  the 
king,  and  a  violent  scene  ensued.  Some  of  the  natives  still 
sided  with  their  old  master,  and  with  knives  and  shark-tooth 
daggers  surrounded  him,  uttering  cries  of  defiance  at  the 
Captain. 

I  was  in  the  big  house  when  the  row  commenced,  and  saw 
the  excited  savages  running  up  to  where  the  Captain  and 
old  Harry  stood.     An  encounter  seemed  imminent. 

Boy  George,  with  Nellie  and  the  other  women,  now 
rushed  in  and  demanded  of  me  to  give  them  the  Winchester 
and  Snider  rifles,  which  stood  ready  loaded  in  a  corner  of 
the  house.  But,  knowing  that  the  Captain  was  ready  to 
assert  his  authority  without  arms,  I  refused,  and  locking 
them  up  in  a  trade  chest  sat  down  upon  it.     I  knew  that 


164  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

the  first  shot  would  be  followed  by  a  scene  of  bloodshed 
and  murder.  George  was  persistent,  saying  the  Captain 
would  be  killed,  but  changed  his  tone  when  he  walked  in 
unharmed,  but  with  his  fingers  bleeding.  Harry  had  given 
in  when  he  saw  the  Captain  dart  in  amongst  the  natives 
surrounding  him,  and  knock  two  of  the  ringleaders  down, 
but  denied  that  he  had  been  plotting  to  usurp  Hayston's 
autliority.  A  hollow  reconciliation  then  took  place,  but 
there  was  bad  blood  between  them  from  that  time.  He  told 
me  that  I  had  done  wisely  in  locking  up  the  arms,  and  gave 
me  the  key  to  keep,  as  I  had,  he  confessed,  shown  more 
prudence  than  himself.  Then  he  sat  down  and  began  to 
sing  like  a  schoolboy  on  a  holiday. 

One  day  we  took  the  boat  and  went  up  a  creek  flowing 
into  the  harbour.  We  were  the  only  men,  as  the  crew 
consisted  of  Ocean  Island  women  and  some  of  the  girls  from 
the  brig. 

We  were  going  to  land  them  across  the  creek,  where  they 
intended  to  construct  a  fish  weir,  as  the  harbour  was  a  bad 
place  to  fish  in  on  account  of  the  swarms  of  fierce  and 
daring  sharks. 

Among  the  girls  in  the  boat  were  two  from  Ocean  Island, 
being  of  the  party  landed  from  the  whaleships  at  Chabral 
harbour.  One  of  these  was  the  new  wife  of  the  old  convict 
trader.  She  had  come  down  on  a  visit,  and  kept  us  amused 
with  her  descriptions  of  the  orgies  and  drunken  freaks  of 
the  fierce  old  man,  whose  conduct  had  frightened  —  no  easy 
matter  —  all  who  came  into  contact  with  him. 

As  we  crossed  over  the  in-shore  reef  and  got  into  the 
channel  of  the  creek,  I  saw  a  canoe  with  three  figures  in  it 
ahead  of  us,  and  told  the  Captain  that  I  thought  I  recog- 
nised Lalia.  He  said  it  was  hardly  possible,  as  she  lived 
six  miles  away  on  the  coast,  and  was  not  likely  to  come 
down  here.  At  this  mention  of  Lalia  her  successor  looked 
frightened,  and  said  she  would  like  to  go  back,  but  was 


A    KING    AND    QUEKN  165 

overruled  by  the  others,  who  laughed  at  her  fears.  After 
rowing  up  the  creek  as  far  as  the  boat  would  go,  the  girls 
got  out,  and  the  Captain  and  I  took  our  rifles  and  started  up 
a  spur  in  the  mountain  on  the  chance  of  getting  a  shot  at 
the  wild  pigs. 

We  struck  into  the  dense  woodland,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  voices  of  the  laughing  girls  sounded  subdued  and  far 
away.  The  gloom  of  the  primeval  forest  seemed  to  be 
deepened  by  the  vast  structure  and  domelike  tops  of  the 
mighty  trees,  whose  thick  branches  formed  an  almost  perfect 
canopy,  while  underneath  our  footsteps  fell  soundless  on  the 
thick  carpet  of  rotting  leaves. 

Here  the  Captain  and  I  took  different  routes,  agreeing 
to  meet  on  the  summit  of  the  spur.  As  I  walked  along  the 
silence  that  enshrouded  all  things  seemed  to  weigh  heavily ; 
the  darkening  gloom  of  the  forest  began  to  fill  me  with 
childish  fancies  and  misgivings.  My  nerves  became  strung 
to  such  a  pitch  that  the  harsh  croak  of  some  brooding 
frigate  bird,  or  the  sudden  booming  note  of  a  wood  pigeon, 
set  my  heart  bumping  against  my  ribs  with  that  strange, 
undefined  feeling  which,  if  it  be  not  premonition,  is  nearly 
akin  to  it. 

I  had  ascended  half-way  to  the  spur  when  I  heard  a  shot. 

Its  prolonged  and  tumultuous  echoes  startled  the  denizens 
of  the  forest,  winged  and  quadrupedal,  and  as  they  died 
away  a  wild  chorus  of  shrieks  and  growls  seemed  to  elec- 
trify me  into  life.  Waiting  till  silence  resumed  sway  I 
called  aloud  to  the  Captain.  Far  down  below  I  heard  his 
answering  call.  Then  he  queried,  "Have  you  shot  any- 
thing? " 

"No,  I  have  not  fired." 

"Quick,"  he  shouted,  "come  down  —  there's  mischief 
among  the  women." 

Kushing  down  the  leaf -strewn  spur  I  soon  joined  him. 
We  ran  together  till  we  reached  the  boat.     There  a  tragedy 


166  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

had  been  enacted.  The  girls  were  huddled  up  in  the  boat, 
which  was  drifting  about  from  bank  to  bank.  As  we 
dashed  through  the  scrub  they  pointed  to  a  patch  of  green- 
sward amongst  the  cocoa-nut  trees,  saying,  ''She  is  killed." 

There,  lying  on  her  face  quite  dead,  was  the  Ocean 
Island  girl  with  a  bullet  througli  her  breast.  The  ball  had 
passed  completely  through  her  body,  and  though  her  limbs 
were  still  quivering  with  muscular  action,  she  must  have 
died  in  a  few  seconds  after  she  was  struck. 

The  girls  told  us  that  while  they  were  making  the  weir 
she  had  gone  up  to  a  pool  of  fresh  water  among  the  rocks 
to  look  for  fresh-water  shrimps.  A  few  minutes  after  they 
heard  a  shot;  she  staggered  forward  and  fell  on  her  face 
dead. 

The  Captain  and  I  looked  at  one  another.  Each  read  the 
thoughts  that  passed  through  the  other's  mind  —  Lalia  had 
fired  the  shot!  But,  calling  the  women  out  of  the  boat,  the 
Captain  sternly  forbade  them  to  mention  Lalia's  name  in 
connection  with  the  matter,  and  said  that  they  must  all  keep 
silence.  A  grave  was  hastily  dug  in  the  soft  alluvial  of 
the  shadowy  forest  glade,  where  the  body  of  the  poor  girl, 
wrapped  in  garments  of  her  companions,  was  hastily  buried. 

I  did  not  understand  the  meaning  of  the  secrecy  which 
was  evidently  considered  necessary,  until  the  Captain  told 
me  that  as  tlie  girl  was  in  his  charge  at  the  time  of  her 
death,  he  Avould  be  held  responsible,  and  that  the  uncertain 
temper  of  her  countrymen  might  at  any  time  cause  an 
outbreak. 

We  returned  to  the  boat,  and  the  women,  as  we  neared 
the  village,  were  instructed  by  the  Captain  to  answer  all 
inquiries  for  the  dead  girl  by  saying  she  had  disappeared. 
Her  countrymen  took  her  departure  very  quietly,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  evil  spirits  of  the  mountain  had 
carried  her  away,  and  their  superstition  forbade  search. 


A    KING    AND   QUEEN  167 

I  cannot,  even  after  the  time  that  has  elapsed,  recall 
without  a  pang  of  regret  the  total  change  in  the  Captain's 
demeanour  and  conduct  at  this  time.  Some  demon  ap- 
peared to  have  taken  possession  of  him.  His  terrific  bursts 
of  violence  drove  every  soul  away  at  times,  none  daring  to 
venture  near  him  until  he  had  cooled  down  except  myself, 
to  whom  he  never  addressed  a  harsh  or  angry  word.  One 
day  he  declared  that  the  men  of  the  Leonora  and  some  of 
the  Pleasant  islanders  were  concocting  a  meeting,  and  I 
was  sickened  and  horrified  at  seeing  three  of  each  lashed 
to  cocoa-nut  trees,  while  the  huge  figure  of  Antonio,  the 
black  Portviguese,  towered  above  the  crowd  as  he  flogged 
them.  The  Captain  stood  by  with  a  pistol  in  each  hand 
as,  with  a  countenance  blanched  and  disturbed  with  passion, 
he  ordered  Antonio  to  lay  it  on  well. 

I  went  into  the  house  and,  sitting  down,  tried  to  think 
out  a  course  for  myself.  The  Captain  came  in  after  a  while 
and,  drawing  a  seat  to  the  window,  gazed  moodily  out  iipon 
the  sparkling,  breeze-rippled  sea.  Then  I  knew  that  the 
dark  hour  had  passed,  and  that  he  would  listen  to  reason. 

"Captain,"  I  said,  "I  can  stay  here  no  longer  with  you. 
I  am  sick  of  seeing  men  flogged  till  their  backs  are  like 
raw  meat,  even  though  they  are  mutinous.  If  I  thought 
any  words  of  mine  would  do  good,  I  would  earnestly  beg 
of  you  to  adopt  milder  measures.  Every  day  that  passes 
you  run  the  gauntlet,  so  to  speak,  of  these  men's  deadly 
hatred,  I  know ;  for  how  can  I  avoid  hearing  the  mutter- 
ings  and  seeing  the  fierce  glances  of  the  people  —  that  you 
are  surrounded  with  foes,  and  that  any  moment  may  be 
your  last." 

He  placed  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  in  his  old  way. 
"True,  my  lad,  true;  but  if  they  are  dangerous  to  meddle 
with,  so  am  I.  The  white  men,  young  Harry  excepted, 
would  gladly  see  me  lying  out  there  on  the  sand  with  a 
bullet  hole  in   my  skull;  but,  by  ,  I'll   shoot   every 


168  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

mother's  son  of  them  if  I  detect  any  treachery.  .  .  .  And 
so  you  wish  to  leave  me?  " 

I  considered  a  moment  and  then  answered,  "  Sorry  am  I 
to  say  it,  but  I  do." 

"  Come  out  to  the  beach,  my  lad,  and  talk  to  me  there. 
This  house  is  stifling;  another  month  of  this  life  would 
send  me  mad." 

We  walked  along  the  weather  side  for  about  a  mile,  then 
seating  ourselves  on  a  huge  flat  rock,  watched  the  rollers 
tumbling  in  over  the  reef  and  hissing  along  the  sand  at  our 
feet.  Hayston  then  spoke  freely  to  me  of  his  troubles,  his 
hopes,  and  disappointments,  begging  me  to  remain  with 
him  —  going,  indeed,  the  length  of  a  half  promise  to  use 
gentler  methods  of  correction  in  future. 

I  yielded  for  a  time,  but  after  another  week  the  fights 
and  floggings,  followed  by  threats  of  vengeance,  com- 
menced anew.  Two  incidents  also,  following  close  upon 
one  another,  led  me  to  sever  my  connection  with  the  Cap- 
tain finally,  though  in  a  friendly  spirit. 

The  first  was  an  attack  single-handed  upon  the  Kusaie 
village  of  Utwe,  driving  the  men  before  him  like  a  flock  of 
sheep.  Some  who  ventured  to  resist  were  felled  by  blows 
of  his  fist.  Then  he  picked  out  half  a  dozen  of  the  young- 
est women,  and  drove  them  to  the  men's  quarters,  telling 
them  to  keep  them  till  the  husbands  and  families  ransomed 
them. 

This  was  all  because  he  had  been  told  that  Likiak  Sa 
had  been  to  the  village,  and  urged  the  natives  to  remove 
to  Lele,  where  a  man-of-war  was  expected  to  arrive 
from  Honolulu,  and  that  Hayston  dared  not  follow  them 
there. 

The  next  matter  that  went  wrong  was  that  he  desired  me 
to  bring  the  trade  books,  and  go  over  the  various  traders' 
accounts  with  him. 

One  of  these  books  was  missing,  although  I  remembered 


A   KING   AND   QUEEN  169 

placing  the  whole  bundle  in  the  big  chest  with  the  charts 
and  chronometers.  He  declared  that  the  loss  of  this  book, 
Avith  some  important  accounts  of  his  trading  stations  in 
the  Line  and  Marshall  Islands,  rendered  the  others  value- 
less. 

I  felt  aggrieved  at  the  imputation  of  carelessness,  and 
having  never  since  first  I  knew  him  felt  any  fear  of  ex- 
pressing myself  clearly,  told  him  that  he  must  have  lost  it, 
or  it  would  have  been  with  the  others. 

Starting  from  his  seat  with  his  face  livid  with  rage,  he 
passionately  denied  having  lost  it.  Then  he  strode  into 
his  room,  and  with  savage  oaths  drove  out  the  women, 
cursing  them  as  the  cause  of  the  brig's  loss  and  all  his 
misfortunes. 

The  next  moment  he  appeared  with  his  arms  full  of 
chronometers,  and,  standing  in  the  doorway,  tore  the  costly 
instruments  from  their  cases  and  dashed  them  to  pieces  on 
the  coral  flagstones  at  his  feet.  Then,  swearing  he  would 
fire  the  station  and  roast  every  one  in  it,  with  his  hands 
beating  and  clutching  at  the  air,  his  face  working  with 
passion,  he  walked,  staggering  like  a  drunken  man,  to  the 
beach,  and  threw  himself  down  on  a  boulder. 

Three  hours  after,  taking  little  Kitty  and  Toby  with  me, 
I  found  him  still  there,  resting  his  head  on  his  hand  and 
gazing  out  upon  the  sea. 

"Captain,"  I  said,  "I  have  come  to  say  farewell." 

He  slowly  raised  his  head,  and  with  sorrow  depicted  on 
his  countenance,  gave  me  his  hand. 

I  pressed  it  and  turned  away.  I  packed  up  my  belong- 
ings, and  then  calling  to  Xellie,  told  her  to  give  the  Cap- 
tain a  note  which  I  left  on  his  table,  and  with  a  handshake 
to  each  of  the  wondering  girls,  made  my  way  through  the 
village,  and  thence  to  the  bank  of  a  lagoon  that  runs  paral- 
lel to  the  southern  coast  of  Strong's  Island.  I  knew  that 
I  could  walk   to   Coquille   harbour   in   about   a  day,  and 


170  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

thither  I  decided  to  go,  as  at  the  village  of  Mout  dwelt  a 
man  named  Kusis,  who  had  several  times  pressed  me  to 
visit  him. 


It  was  a  bright  moonlight  night,  so  that  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  making  my  way  along  the  lonely  coast.  The 
lagoon,  solemnly  still  and  silver-gleaming,  lay  between  me 
and  the  mainland.  The  narrow  strip  on  the  ocean  side  was 
not  more  than  half  a  mile  wide ;  on  the  lagoon  border  was 
a  thicket  well-nigh  impassable. 

The  mood  of  melancholy  that  impressed  me  at  parting 
with  a  man  to  whom,  in  spite  of  his  faults,  I  was  sincerely 
attached,  weighed  heavily.  The  deep  silence  of  the  night, 
unbroken  save  by  the  murmuring  plumes  of  the  cocoa-nut 
palms  as  they  swayed  to  the  breath  of  the  trade-wind,  and 
the  ceaseless  plaints  of  the  unresting  surge,  completed  the 
feeling  of  loneliness  and  desolation. 

At  length  I  reached  the  end  of  the  narrow  spit  that  ran 
parallel  to  the  lofty  mainland,  and  found  that  I  had  to 
cross  over  the  reef  that  connected  it  to  the  main,  this  reef 
forming  the  southern  end  of  the  lagoon. 

The  country  was  entirely  new  to  me,  but  once  I  gained 
the  white  beach  that  fringed  the  leeside  of  the  island,  I 
knew  that  I  need  only  follow  it  along  till  I  i-eached  the 
village  of  Mout,  about  four  miles  distant  from  the  end  of 
the  lagoon.  I  hung  my  bundle  across  my  Winchester  and 
commenced  the  crossing.  The  tide  was  out  and  the  reef 
bare,  but  here  and  there  were  deep  pools  through  which  I 
had  to  pick  my  steps  carefully,  being  confused  besides  by 
the  lines  of  dazzling  moon-rays. 

When  nearly  across,  and  walking  up  to  my  waist  through 
a  channel  that  led  between  the  coral  patches,  I  saw  a 
strange,  dark  shape  moving  quickly  towards  me.  "A 
shark!"  I  thought,  but  the  next  minute  the  black  mass 


A    KING   AND   QUEEN  171 

darted  past  me  at  aii  angle,  when  I  saw  it  was  an  innocent 
turtle  that  was  doubtless  more  frightened  than  I.  After 
this  adventure  I  gained  the  white  beach,  which  lay  shining 
like  a  silver  girdle  under  the  moon-rays,  and  flung  myself 
down  on  the  safe  yielding  sand.  The  spot  was  silent  as 
the  grave.  The  murnuirous  rhythm  of  the  surf  sounded 
miles  distant,  and  but  rose  to  the  faintest  lulling  sound,  as 
I  made  a  pillow  of  my  worldly  goods  and  sank  into  dream- 
less sleep. 

It  was  the  earliest  dawn  when  the  chill  breath  of  the 
land-breeze  touched  my  cheek,  and  sent  a  shiver  through 
my  somewhat  exhausted  frame.  I  arose,  and  looking 
round  found  that  I  was  not  wholly  alone:  several  huge 
turtle  had  been  keeping  me  company  during  the  night, 
having  come  ashore  to  lay  their  eggs.  As  soon  as  I  stood 
up  they  scrambled  and  floundered  away  in  dire  fright.  I 
felt  badly  in  need  of  a  smoke,  but  having  no  matches, 
decided  to  eat  soiuething  instead.  1  had  not  far  to  seek 
for  a  breakfast.  Picking  up  a  couple  of  sprouting  cocoa- 
nuts  from  the  ground,  I  husked  them  by  beating  them 
against  a  tree-trunk,  and  made  a  much  needed  meal  from 
the  sweet  kernels. 

Although  I  was  still  far  from  well,  and  the  pain  in  my 
side  had  returned  with  tenfold  vigour,  I  felt  a  new-born 
elasticity  of  spirit.  The  glow  of  the  tropic  sun  lighted  up 
the  slumberous  main  spread  out  in  azure  vastness  before 
me. 

Shouldering  ray  bundle  and  rifle,  my  sole  worldly  posses- 
sions, except  utterly  valueless  money  and  papers  in  the 
Captain's  care,  I  descended  to  the  beach  and  walked  along 
in  the  hard  sand.  At  about  six  o'clock  I  came  abreast  of 
two  lovely  verdure-clad  islets,  rising  from  the  shalloAV 
waters  which  lay  between  the  outer  reefs  and  the  mainland, 
and  I  knew  I  must  be  near  Mout. 

Then  I  saw  a  canoe  shoot  out  from  the  land  about  a  quar- 


172  A  MODERN    BUCCANEER 

ter  of  a  mile  distant,  with  the  native  in  it  standing  up 
poling  it  along.  The  next  bend  of  the  beach  brought  me 
in  full  view  of  the  picturesque  village.  A  loud  cry  of 
wonder  greeted  me.  The  next  moment  I  was  surrounded 
by  smiling  villagers.  I  felt  a  thrill  of  pride  at  the  thought 
that  of  all  those  who  had  been  cast  away  in  the  Leonora, 
none  would  have  been  welcomed  so  warmly  as  I  was  now 
by  those  simple,  kind-hearted  people. 

"Kusis'  friend,  Kusis'  friend  has  come!"  the  men 
called  aloud.  Crowding  around,  and  taking  my  rifle  and 
bundle  from  me,  I  was  escorted  to  the  farther  end  of  the 
village,  where  out  of  a  pretty  little  house  embowered  in  a 
grove  of  palms,  a  man  sprang  out  and  fairly  hugged  me. 

This  was  Kusis,  in  whose  frank  and  open  countenance 
nothing  but  joyous  welcome  and  boundless  hospitality 
could  be  read.  Taking  me  by  the  hand,  he  led  me  inside. 
My  cares  were  over  for  the  present,  evidently. 

Words  of  mine  can  but  faintly  describe  the  generosity 
and  kindness  of  these  people  to  me  during  my  lengthened 
sojourn  among  them.  The  memory  of  the  peaceful  days 
which  I  passed  in  that  unknown,  lovely  village  can  never 
be  effaced. 

Kusis,  it  seems,  had  often  been  to  see  me  when  I  lay 
sick  at  Utwe,  and  was  unconscious  of  his  presence.  The 
Captain  and  Lalia  had  told  me  of  how  he  would  come  softly 
into  the  house,  bringing  a  present  of  fruit  or  fish  for  "the 
sick  white  boy,"  as  he  called  me.  He  would  sit  by  my 
side  and  gaze  anxiously  at  me  for  hours  at  a  time,  always 
questioning  the  Captain  concerning  me.  When  I  got  better 
I  had  long  chats  with  him,  and  to  his  inexpressible  de- 
light, gave  him  a  shot  gun  which  I  had  bought  from  the 
carpenter  for  a  pound  of  tobacco.  He  had  no  shot,  but  he 
told  me  he  could  make  some  from  strips  of  lead,  and  as 
there  was  plenty  of  that  from  the  wreckage  that  came 
ashore,  the  Captain  gave  him  as  much  as  he  could  carry  in 


A   KING    AND   QUEEN  173 

the  canoe,  besides  a  large  tin  of  powder   and  plenty  of 
caps. 

He  was  a  tall,  large-framed  man  for  a  Strong's  islander 
—  magnificently  built,  and  with  a  heart  in  proportion.  His 
wife  Tulp6,  and  his  only  daughter,  a  little  girl  named 
Kinie,  made  up  the  family.  He  evidently  wished  to  com- 
plete it  by  making  me  his  son,  for  his  sole  aim  in  life 
seemed  to  be  to  keep  me  with  him. 

Unlike  the  people  of  Utw^,  the  villagers  of  Mout  were 
iitterly  unsophisticated,  besides  being  free  from  the  cant 
and  hypocrisy  that  nearly  always  attaches  to  the  native 
character  when  they  profess  Christianity.  No  doubt  this 
was  the  result  of  their  village  being  so  distant  from  Lel^, 
where  the  natives  were  for  ever  chanting  psalms  and 
hymns,  and  keeping  the  letter  of  the  law,  while  at  the 
same  time  they  departed  as  widely  from  the  spirit  as  their 
heathen  forefathers  had  ever  done. 

After  a  while  I  received  a  lettei-  from  Captain  Hayston, 
and  with  it  a  large  parcel.     The  letter  ran  as  follows :  — 

My  dear  Boy.  —  Have  yoii  entirely  deserted  me  ?  I  hope  not. 
Come  and  see  me  again,  even  if  you  only  stop  a  day :  I  miss  you 
greatly,  and  the  evenings  are  very  dull  without  you  to  talk  to.  I  gave 
that  fellov?  Miles,  the  boatswain,  a  bad  beating,  and  he  has  cleared 
out  to  the  mountains  with  the  Pleasant  islanders.  Had  you  been  here 
you  would  have  got  him  off.  As  it  is,  I  have  lost  three  men.  Accept 
the  things  I  send.  (The  hat  was  made  for  you  by  a  friend.)  They 
will  do  for  presents  for  your  Kusaie  friends.  Let  me  know  when  you 
can  come  up,  and  I  will  send  the  whaleboat.  — Yours  sincerely, 

W.  H.  Hayston. 

I  sent  back  my  thanks,  saying  that  I  would  come  and  see 
him,  but  should  come  overland,  as  the  messenger  was  re- 
turning in  a  canoe.  Kusis  put  in  two  turtle  as  "  present 
for  Captin." 

I  opened  the  parcel,  Avhich  I  found  contained  all  sorts  of 
articles  likely  to  be  useful  to  me,  with  ten  pounds  of  to- 


174  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

bacco,  and  a  bag  of  small  scarlet  and  white  beads,  the 
delight  of  a  Strong's  Island  girl's  heart.  EoUed  up  in  a 
native  sash  was  a  beautifully-made  Panama  hat.  This 
latter  was  a  gift  from  Lalia,  and  at  once  excited  the  ad- 
miration of  Kusis  and  Tulpe,  when  they  examined  its  tex- 
ture. The  childish  delight  of  Kinie,  when  I  gave  her  the 
beads,  gave  me  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  although  her 
father  and  mother  looked  with  glistening  eyes  at  the  other 
articles  which  I  Avished  them  to  take,  they  firmly  refused 
the  offered  gifts,  Kusis  only  taking  a  few  sticks  of  to- 
bacco, and  his  wife  a  silk  handkerchief  with  some  needles 
and  thread. 

I  was  rapidly  regaining  my  strength,  now  felt  in  much 
higher  spirits  as  I  accompanied  Kusis  on  his  shooting  and 
fishing  trips,  returning  home  to  the  bright  faces  and  wel- 
coming smiles  of  his  wife  and  daughter.  After  another 
week  Kusis  and  I  set  out  to  visit  the  Captain,  who,  though 
I  was  thoroughly  happy  and  contented  with  my  new 
friends,  was  never  absent  from  my  thoughts.  He  received 
us  with  unaffected  pleasure,  and,  calling  his  steward  and 
making  us  sit  down  to  lunch,  he  gave  me  an  account  of 
what  had  been  doing  since  I  had  left. 

The  village  had  now  a  settled  appearance,  and  the  people 
were  all  busy  making  oil,  another  tAvo  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  cocoa-nuts  having  been  paid  by  the  king.  The 
Captain  asked  me  if  there  were  not  a  vast  quantity  of  cocoa- 
nuts  at  Coquille  harbour,  and  on  my  assenting,  said  he 
would  send  a  gang  of  Pleasant  islanders  under  Fiji  Bill  and 
Antonio  to  live  there,  and  collect  the  third  part  of  the 
indemnity  —  another  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  cocoa- 
nuts. 

This  I  begged  him  not  to  do,  pointing  out  the  injustice 
of  such  an  action,  inasmuch  as  the  people  of  Coquille  had 
no  hand  in  stealing  the  property  from  the  brig,  and  it 
would   be  cruel  to  make  them  pay  for  the  misdoings  of 


A    KING    AND   QUEEN  175 

others.  I  told  liiiu  iilso  that  at  Coquille  were  situated  the 
hirgest  taro  and  yam  plantations,  with  the  best  turtle  fish- 
eries, that  I  was  sure  the  natives  would  destroy  the  plan- 
tations and  abandon  the  villages  if  they  had  the  savage 
Pleasant  islanders  quartered  upon  them.  Besides,  we 
might  have  to  remain  another  eight  or  nine  months  on  the 
island  before  the  whaling  fleet  called  here  again,  and  that 
it  was  absolutely  indispensable  that  he  should  be  able  to 
command  a  supply  of  food  to  subsist  nearly  a  hundred  and 
fifty  people. 

Kusis,  who  was  seated  on  the  mats  near  us,  eagerly 
watched  the  Captain.  At  length  a  look  of  content  over- 
spread his  face  as  the  Captain  said  he  would  not  touch  the 
cocoa-nuts  in  Coquille  harbour.  To  Kusis  he  said,  "Tell 
your  people  to  have  no  fear  as  long  as  the  king  continues 
to  pay  up,  but  once  let  me  see  any  'soldiering,'  or  desire 
to  avoid  paying  the  fine,  I'll  strip  the  island  from  Mount 
Crozier  to  the  reef." 

Then  we  strolled  to  and  fro  on  the  Plaza,  as  we  called 
the  local  esplanade  in  front  of  the  big  house,  and  the  Cap- 
tain told  me  to  come  and  look  at  his  turtle  pond,  in  which 
were  a  number  of  green  turtle,  and  also  the  two  hawkbills 
sent  by  Kusis. 

I  found  that  several  of  the  traders  had  now  openly  broken 
with  him,  and  leaving  their  native  following,  had  retired 
to  Lele,  where  they  were  under  the  protection  of  the  king. 
The  number  of  girls  in  the  big  house  had  now  increased  to 
nine  or  ten.  At  the  time  of  my  visit  some  were  engaged 
in  weaving  an  immense  mat  to  cover  the  whole  floor,  others 
were  drying  and  picking  tobacco  leaves  for  making  cigars. 
Two  of  the  new  arrivals,  I  could  see,  were  native  girls. 
I  asked  the  Captain  what  they  Avere  doing  there.  He  an- 
swered somewhat  testily,  "  Did  I  think  they  came  to  teach 
Sunday-school?  " 

I   remained  that  night,  and  we  spent  a  merry  evening. 


176  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

In  the  morning,  after  a  breakfast  of  turtle  eggs  and  roast 
pig,  Kusis  and  I  prepared  to  return. 

The  Captain  urged  me  to  go  by  way  of  Chabral  harbour, 
and  pay  my  promised  visit  to  the  king. 

"  In  that  case  I  might  let  him  know  how  his  Majesty  was 
taking  matters."  Kusis  also  iirged  me  to  see  the  king, 
who  was  anxious  that  I  should  spend  a  week  with  him. 

We  got  a  canoe  to  carry  us  across  to  the  north  arm  of 
the  harbour,  where  I  remained  an  hour  or  two  with  young 
Harry,  who  had  established  quite  a  small  village. 

When  we  entered  the  fence  surrounding  his  place,  we 
found  him  lying  in  a  hammock,  slung  between  two  pan- 
danus-trees,  smoking  his  morning  pipe,  and  having  his  hair 
combed  by  two  pretty  little  witches  named  Rosa  and  Taloe. 

This  was  Harry's  idea  of  island  luxury.  He  always 
alleged  that  sleeping  gave  him  a  headache,  and  that  having 
his  hair  brushed  drove  it  away,  particularly  if  the  combing 
was  performed  by  the  soft  hands  of  one  of  his  four  houris. 

He  sprang  up  and  welcomed  me  heartily,  urging  me  to 
stay  all  night.  But  I  was  anxious  to  get  on.  However, 
I  said  I  should  be  glad  to  see  him  at  Mout,  when  he  could 
bring  his  family  with  him,  and  give  them  a  week's  feast 
on  pork  and  turtle. 

Harry  presently  took  me  into  a  small  room,  saying, 
"Look  here!"  The  place  was  closely  packed  with  liquor 
in  small  kegs.  These  had  been  washed  ashore,  and  he  had 
found  them,  only  a  few  days  since,  high  up  in  the  man- 
groves. The  Captain  told  him  to  store  it,  as  it  was  dan- 
gerous stuff  to  bring  to  Utwe.  The  Pleasant  islanders  are 
very  fond  of  liquor,  after  imbibing  which  they  always  want 
to  fight  and  kill  some  one,  and  generally  do. 

We  had  a  glass  of  grog  together,  after  which  I  said  good- 
bye to  the  good-natured,  handsome  young  trader  and  his 
wives,  whom  he  used  to  call  the  "  Three  Graces,  with  an- 
other thrown  in." 


A   KING   AND   QUEEN  177 

Kusis  and  I  readied  tlie  south  side  of  Chabral  liarbour 
about  sunset.  I  was  freshly  enchanted  with  the  loveliness 
of  the  scene,  accustomed  as  I  had  become  to  this  paradisal 
quarter  of  the  globe.  The  trade-wind  had  died  away,  the 
transparent  waters  of  the  harbour  reflected  in  their  blue 
depths  the  tall  shadows  of  the  towering  mountains  that 
overhung  the  harbour  on  three  sides. 

A  canoe  put  across  from  the  king's  wharf  when  I  fired  a 
shot  to  attract  attention.  So  wonderfully  clear  was  the 
atmosphere,  so  unbroken  the  silence  of  the  lonely  bay, 
that  the  quick  "  tweep,  tweep  "  of  the  paddle,  as  it  struck 
the  water,  reached  our  ears  as  distinctly  as  if  the  canoe 
was  but  a  few  yards  distant,  instead  of  nearly  half  a 
mile. 

The  old  king  received  me  graciously,  but  soon  com- 
menced a  string  of  complaints,  interlarded  with  Scripture 
quotations  rounded  off  by  quaint  oaths.  He  feared  the 
Captain  greatly,  and  yet  was  anxious  to  keep  up  his 
authority.  Then,  with  every  grievance  that  was  laid  be- 
fore me,  he  drank  a  stiff  glass  of  grog  to  wash  it  down 
Avith,  and  insisted  on  my  keeping  him  company. 

Queen  Se  now  came  in,  saying  in  her  prettiest  English, 
"  Oh !  you  naughty  boy  !  Why  you  no  come  see  king,  see 
me?  Long  time  promise,  but  never  come  out.  How  you 
bad  pain  side  ?  How  many  Strong's  Island  girl  Captain 
got  now  ?  I  never  see  man  like  that.  Debil,  I  believe. 
You  got  any  wife  yet  ?  " 

I  told  the  queen  I  was  still  unmarried,  and  thought  I 
should  remain  so. 

"  Oh  !  no,  you  say  so  now.  By  and  by  get  like  Captain. 
But  don't  you  steal  girl  like  him.  You  come  to  me !  I 
pick  you  out  nice  girl.  Cook,  sew,  make  pyjamas  ;  very 
pretty  face  too." 

By  this  time  old  Tokusar  was  asleep,  with  his  head  on 
the  table,  his  inevitable  Bible  open  at  the  Psalms  of  David 

N 


178  A   MODEllN   BUCCANEEK 

(printed  in  the  Kusaie  dialect)  in  the  leaf  of  his  armchair, 
and  the  half-emptied  gin  bottle  encircled  by  his  left  arm. 

Queen  Se  was  a  tiny  little  creature  —  very  good-looking, 
even  at  this  time  of  her  life  —  being  about  five-and-twenty, 
which  is  considered  the  passee  period  in  Polynesia.  She 
was  extremely  vain,  but  had  a  quick  perception  of  humour. 
She  and  the  Captain  always  got  on  famously  together. 

Drawing  our  chairs  up  to  a  side  table,  she  brought  me 
a  number  of  bound  volumes  of  Leslie's  Illustrated  Paper, 
sent  to  her  by  the  queen  of  Hawaii. 

While  I  looked  at  the  pictures  she  plied  me  with  ques- 
tions, principally  at  random,  about  Captain  Hayston,  who, 
I  was  not  long  in  discovering,  had  been  a  former  admirer. 
Going  into  a  side  room,  she  unlocked  a  small  box,  and 
brought  me  out  a  i:)hoto  of  a  gentleman  wearing  a  post- 
captain's  uniform  in  her  Britannic  Majesty's  navy.  "What 
do  you  think  of  him  ?  "  she  asked.  "  Very,  oh  !  very  hand- 
some man  —  that  Captain  Darner.  Oh !  that  long  time 
ago.  I  love  him ;  he  love  me  too "  —  and  then,  pointing 
to  poor  old  Tokusar,  "  King  know  all  about  it.  He  don't 
like  me  to  talk  about  Captain  Damer,  But,  oh!  such  hand- 
some man  !  He  tell  me  I  loveliest  girl  in  all  the  world. 
What  you  think  yourself?  What  Captain  tell  you;  he 
think  me  pretty  too  ?  " 

Her  Majesty  was  an  expert  angler  for  flattery.  I  was 
not  indisposed  to  humour  a  pretty  woman,  and  a  queen, 
and  was  evidently  rising  in  her  estimation.  I  resolved  to 
turn  my  good  fortune  to  account,  by  inducing  her  to  effect 
a  reconciliation  between  the  king  and  the  Captain,  who 
wanted  the  king  to  visit  him  at  Utw6,  to  see  the  wonderful 
change  he  had  effected  there.  He  felt  certain  that,  when 
the  king  saw  the  magnitude  of  the  station,  knowing  that 
it  must,  sooner  or  later,  come  into  his  possession  when  he, 
Hayston,  left  the  island,  he  would  forgive  all  that  had 
passed. 


A   KING   AND   QUEEN  179 

Once  the  subject  was  broached  I  became  an  ardent  advo- 
cate for  the  Captain,  and  told  the  queen  how  anxious  he 
was  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  king  again.  In  fact,  so 
eloquent  did  I  become,  partly  through  the  potency  of  the 
schnapps  of  which  I  had  partaken,  that  I  represented  the 
Captain  as  devoured  with  grief  at  losing  the  king's  and 
her  friendship. 

The  queen  listened  gravely,  and  then  extending  her 
shapely  hand,  caught  me  by  the  ear,  and  laughed,  "Oh! 
you  bad  boy !  Captain  Hayston  think  Tokusar  old  fool ; 
told  me  so  plenty  time.  Well,  never  mind,  I  try  make 
everything  all  right." 

The  queen,  as  beseemed  her,  had  a  number  of  young 
women  with  her,  sitting  round  the  sides  of  the  great  room. 
Some  Avere  making  the  girdles  that  the  Kusaie  natives  of 
both  sexes  wear  round  the  waist  under  their  other  gar- 
ments. They  are  woven  on  an  ingeniously  constructed 
loom,  the  banana  fibres  which  form  the  material  being 
stained  in  various  bright  colours.  These  girls  were  sitting 
in  the  manner  peculiar  to  the  Strong's  Island  women,  with 
their  eyes  cast  down  —  it  being  considered  a  boldness  to 
look  at  either  the  king  or  queen.  When  speaking  to  either 
their  eyes  were  always  bent  on  the  ground. 

The  king,  being  carefully  placed  on  a  cane  lounge,  a 
meal  was  brought  in.  Both  Kusis  and  I  were  presented 
with  food  enough  to  last  for  a  month.  As  the  queen  bade 
me  good-night  she  passed  her  arm  round  me,  and  tenderly 
inquired,  "  How  my  poor  side  feel  ? "  adding  that  I  was 
a  very  good  boy,  because  I  was  kind  to  Strong's  Island 
man.  She  also  informed  me  that  I  could  kiss  her,  which 
I  did.  Then  putting  the  post-captain's  photo  in  her  bosom 
she  went  to  bed,  finally  telling  me  that  she  "  will  make 
king  friend  once  more  with  Captain." 


180  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

For  the  next  six  months  I  lived  with  the  kind-hearted 
Kusis,  his  wife,  and  little  daughter.  Except  for  an 
occasional  visit  to  the  Captain  or  the  king,  nothing  dis- 
turbed the  pleasing  monotony  of  my  existence. 

Why  Kusis  should  have  taken  such  a  violent  and  wholly 
unreasonable  attachment  to  me  is  a  mystery  I  never  could 
unravel.  Yet  such  is  island  life.  And  how  strange  it  is, 
and  hard  of  comprehension  !  Women  take  their  fancies 
here,  as  in  other  worlds  (surely  this  is  a  world  in  itself, 
distinct,  mystic,  unreal),  but  the  extraordinary  point  in 
the  social  system  is,  that  men  will,  as  a  matter  of  mere 
caprice,  conceive  the  most  ardent  friendship  for  an  utter 
stranger.  In  pursuance  of  which  passion  they  will  enter- 
tain him  for  any  time  which  he  likes  to  stay  ;  will  guide, 
help,  and  defend  him,  risking,  and  indeed  sacrificing  their 
lives  for  him  in  the  most  reckless  and  devoted  manner. 
Such  was  the  deep  and  sudden  affection  of  Kusis  for  me. 
How  he  acquired  it  I  don't  in  the  least  know.  All  my 
personal  property  seemed  to  be  mixed  up  with  his.  As 
the  weather  was  not  favourable  for  attention  to  detail,  I 
preferred  to  leave  things  as  they  were.  My  life  at  this 
time  was  chiefly  uneventful.  Yet  it  was  not  always  so. 
I  was  fishing  one  day  near  the  end  of  the  lagoon  which 
extends  from  Utwe  to  the  lee  side  of  the  island.  After  I 
had  anchored  my  canoe  a  very  strange  incident  indeed 
occurred. 

The  sun  had  just  set,  and  I  had  cast  out  my  hooks,  and 
was  able  to  fill  my  pipe,  when  I  saw  two  boatsful  of  Pleasant 
islanders  land  on  the  narrow  fringe  of  the  north  side  of  the 
lagoon.  There  were  about  twenty  men  and  seven  or  eight 
women.  I  saw  that  they  had  with  them  a  small  keg,  doubt- 
less one  of  the  kegs  of  rum  which  had  been  washed  ashore, 
and  which  they  had  discovered  in  the  mangroves.  A  fire 
was  lit.  The  women  began  to  sing  and  the  men  to  dance  ; 
and  as  the  fiery  spirit  was  passed  round  in  cocoa-nut  shells 


A    KING    AND   QUEEN  181 

to  the  men  —  for  the  women  touched  none  —  a  wild  orgie 
began. 

Suddenly  bright  flashes  appeared  from  out  the  darkness 
in  the  surrounding  grove,  and  the  reverberating  echoes  of 
gun-shots  pealed  over  the  water,  and  ran  far  back,  from 
mountain,  crag,  and  cave. 

Three  of  the  dancers  fell,  either  killed  or  wounded. 
Then  the  dark  forms  of  their  previously  unseen  enemies 
appeared  through  the  firelight.  The  white  shells  worn  in 
strings  round  their  necks  told  me  that  they  were  Ocean 
islanders,  between  whom  and.  the  Pleasant  islanders  feuds 
were  of  common  occurrence.  Then  began  a  bloody  hand-to- 
hand  fight,  the  twilight  silence  being  broken  by  yells  of 
rage  and  screams  of  mortal  agony.  When  the  Ocean 
islanders  were  beaten  off  seven  or  eight  bodies  lay  motion- 
less on  the  ground. 

I  quietly  pulled  up  the  anchor,  and  let  the  canoe  drift 
towards  the  mainland.  I  did  not  care  about  visiting  the 
scene  of  the  fight  as  I  had  no  arms  with  me,  and  learnt  by 
experience  the  folly  of  meddling  with  the  Pleasant  islanders 
when  they  were  sober.  When  they  were  drunk  I  knew 
that  they  would  as  soon  cut  my  throat  as  not. 

I  mentioned  this  matter  to  the  Captain  on  my  next  visit. 
He  told  me  with  a  grim  smile  that  he  knew  there  had  been 
a  fight  up  the  lagoon ;  so  much  the  better,  as  he  found  the 
Pleasant  islanders  harder  to  manage  every  day,  and  the 
sooner  their  number  was  reduced  the  better. 

One  day,  when  Kusis  and  I  were  coming  across  the 
lagoon  with  some  pigeons  I  had  shot,  we  met  the  Pingelap 
girl,  Peloa,  paddling  a  canoe  furiously,  her  plump  face 
showing  great  excitement.  "She  had  been  sent  for  us," 
she  said,  "by  the  Captain.  There  was  a  sail  in  sight. 
I  was  to  hasten  back  to  Mout,  where  I  would  find  a  boat 
outside  the  reef  which  he  had  sent  down  for  me.  I  was  to 
try  and  board  the  ship,  in  case  he  could  not  do  so  from 


182  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Utwe,  and  tell  the  master  that  a  shipwrecked  crew  were 
on  the  island." 

Peloa  hauled  her  canoe  up  on  a  little  beach,  and  got  in 
with  us.  We  three  then  paddled  along|till  we  got  abreast 
of  the  two  islets  near  Moilt.  We  then  saw  a  whaleboat 
coming  round  the  point  with  a  lug  sail.  She  soon  ran  in 
for  me,  and  I  found  she  was  manned  by  Pleasant  islanders, 
who  told  me  that  the  ship  was  coming  round  the  point, 
about  three  miles  oft"  the  land. 

There  was  a  strong  breeze,  and  we  slipped  through  the 
water  at  a  great  rate  so  as  to-  meet  the  ship.  As  soon  as 
we  cleared  the  point  I  saw  her  coming  down  before  the 
wind  about  two  miles  distant. 

She  was  a  large  ship,  and  was  running  straight  for  us 
with  her  yards  squared.  At  first  I  thought  she  had  seen 
us,  but  she  kept  steadily  on  her  course.  Then  I  saw  her 
take  in  her  light  sails  and  heave  to.  Standing  up  in  the 
boat,  I  could  distinguish  a  whaleboat  under  a  fore  and  aft 
sail  close  to  her.  Behind  this  boat  were  two  others,  which, 
from  their  black  paint  and  peculiarly-cut  sails,  I  knew  to 
be  those  the  Captain  had  at  Utwe. 

The  ship  lay  to  till  the  first  whaleboat  boarded  her,  and 
then,  to  my  great  surprise,  the  yards  were  swung  round,  the 
light  sails  again  set,  and  she  stood  on  her  course,  but  kept 
the  wind  more  on  her  quarter  so  as  to  make  the  most  of 
the  breeze. 

By  this  time  I  had  got  almost  within  hailing  distance  of 
the  ship.  She  was  deep  in  the  water,  and  was,  I  supposed, 
some  coal-laden  ship  bound  from  New  South  Wales  to 
China,  which  had  taken  the  outside  or  easier  route  to  her 
destination.  When  the  whaleboat  lowered  her  sail  and  ran 
alongside,  I  saw  that  she  was  the  king's  new  boat,  and  con- 
tained but  two  men.  These,  my  crew  said,  looked  like  the 
two  deserters  from  the  St.  George.  As  soon  as  they  got  on 
board  the  boat  was  hoisted  in  without  delay,  and,  as  I  have 
said,  the  ship  kept  on  her  course. 


A   KING   AND   QUEEN  183 

It  was  of  no  use  attempting  to  overtake  her,  as  she  was 
travelling  now  about  twelve  knots,  so  1  signalled  for  the 
other  two  boats,  and  they  ran  down  after  us  till  we  got 
under  the  lee  of  the  land  again  in  smooth  water. 

The  men  in  these  boats  told  me  the  following  tale:  — 
About  daylight  that  morning  the  king's  whaleboat,  which 
was  anchored  in  Utwe  harbour,  was  found  to  be  missing. 
The  two  deserters  from  the  >S'^.  George  were  also  gone. 
Captain  Hayston  instantly  offered  to  send  his  boat  in  pur- 
suit of  the  runaways,  and  curiously,  just  as  they  were 
being  launched,  there  came  a  cry  of  ''  Sail  ho."  The  Cap- 
tain then  saw  the  ship  a  long  way  off,  and  told  the  crews 
to  try  and  board  her,  and  get  her  to  run  in  close  to  the  land, 
and  that  he  would  then  come  off  himself.  In  the  mean 
time  he  manned  one  of  the  trader's  whaleboats  with  a 
native  crew,  and  sent  her  round  to  Coquille  to  pick  me  up, 
as  he  fancied  the  ship  would  be  easier  boarded  from  there 
than  from  Utw6.  The  three  boats  left  together,  two  stand- 
ing right  out  to  sea,  and  the  other  running  down  the  coast 
to  pick  me  up. 

When  the  two  boats  were  within  three  miles  of  the  ship, 
they  noticed  the  fore  and  aft  sail  of  the  king's  whaleboat 
showing  up  now  and  then  as  she  rose  and  sunk  again  in 
the  heavy  swell,  and  noticed  that  she  was  also  heading  to 
meet  the  ship.     The  rest  I  had  observed  myself. 

I  suspected  something  from  the  manner  of  the  coxswain 
in  charge  of  the  king's  two  boats,  but  did  not  question  him, 
and  telling  him  to  give  the  Captain  full  particulars  of  our 
endeavour  to  board  the  ship,  I  got  ashore  in  a  smooth  part 
of  the  reef,  and  walked  back  to  Mout,  where  I  found  the 
villagers  in  a  great  state  of  excitement,  under  the  impres- 
sion that  I  had  gone  away  in  the  ship. 

Hayston  afterwards  admitted  that  he  had  supplied  the 
deserters  with  sextant,  compass,  and  chart,  had  also  given 
them  provisions,  and  lifty  dollars  in  money.     They  prom- 


184  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

ised  him  to  make  straight  for  Ponap^,  and  wait  there  till 
some  Californian  ship  called,  which  they  would  endeavour 
to  charter,  on  the  part  of  Hayston,  to  beat  up  to  Strong's 
Island,  and  take  us  all  away  to  Providence  Island.  Barney 
was  a  good  navigator,  and  could  he  only  have  kept  fairly 
sober  would  have  long  since  had  a  ship  of  his  own.  He 
eagerly  accepted  the  Captain's  offer,  and  the  next  morning 
the  crew  of  the  king's  whaleboat  found  she  had  disappeared; 
then  followed  the  strange  series  of  events  by  which  Barney 
and  his  mate  got  on  board  the  ship  and  evaded  pursuit. 

Barney  was  a  highly  intelligent  individual,  as  the  sequel 
will  show,  and  was  capable  of  making  a  rapid  calculation 
of  probabilities.  He  afterwards  visited  Samoa,  and  gave 
this  account  of  his  escape. 

He  said  that  when  the  Captain  provided  him  with  "a 
jewel  of  a  whaleboat,"  he  honestly  intended  to  fulfil  his 
promises.  He  lost  some  time  in  trying  to  persuade  a  native 
girl  named  Luta  to  share  his  fortunes,  but  she  was  afraid 
of  a  long  voyage  in  a  small  boat.  His  pleadings,  moreover, 
were  cut  short  by  the  Captain,  who  told  him  to  hurry  up, 
and  get  out  of  the  harbour  before  daylight. 

As  soon,  then,  as  Barney  sighted  the  ship  a  plan  sug- 
gested itself  to  him.  Once  on  deck  he  introduced  himself 
to  the  Captain  as  "  Captain  Casey,"  and  said,  "  For  heaven's 
sake,  sir,  don't  delay  another  moment.  There  are  two  boat- 
loads of  bloody,  cut-throat  pirates  coming  after  me,  and  they 
mane  to  take  the  ship !  Have  you  never  heard  of  '  Bully 
Hayston'?" 

The  skipper  had  heard  of  him,  —  things  true,  and  untrue 
likewise.  Then  Barney  told  him  a  tale  of  how  the  Leonora 
had  been  wrecked  on  the  island,  and  that  ever  since  the 
fierce  Captain  and  crew  had  planned  to  cut  off  the  first  ship 
that  touched  at  the  island  —  that  he  (Barney)  and  his  mate 
had  owned  a  small  trading  cutter,  which  Hayston  had  seized 
two  days  ago  —  but  that  he  had  managed  to  escape  with 


A   KING    AND   QUEEN  185 

one  of  his  men,  and  thanked  God  that  he  was  able  to  reach 
the  ship  in  time,  and  save  every  one's  throat  from  l^eing 

cut. 

The  ship's  captain  took  all  this  in ;  Barney's  boat  was 
hoisted  in,  and  the  ship  kept  away.  The  two  boats,  with 
their  crews  of  excited  natives  yelling  and  shouting,  gave 
colour  to  Barney's  narrative,  and  when  he  pointed  to  my 
boat,  and  said,  "  Holy  saints !  there's  another  of  the  vil- 
lains coming  out  under  the  lee  side  with  a  boat-load  of 
pirates  too,"  the  captain's  funk  was  complete.  He  landed 
Barney  and  his  companion  at  Ponape,  and,  purely  out  of 
compassion,  bought  the  king's  whaleboat  and  her  contents 
for  a  hundred  dollars,  so  that  Mr.  Barney  landed  there  with 
a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  his  pocket,  and  got  a  free 
passage  later  on  to  Manila  as  a  distressed  American  sea- 
man. 

The  Captain  took  matters  philosophically  when  the  boats 
returned,  saying  that  he  never  had  expected  to  see  Barney 
again.  After  which  he  resumed  his  oil-making  and  the 
government  of  his  ''kingdom  by  the  sea"  as  usual. 

As  for  me,  my  life  was  a  quiet,  deeply  enjoyable  one.  I 
began  at  times  to  doubt  whether  I  should  ever  wish  to 
change  it.  But  against  this  phase  of  lotus-eating  content- 
ment arose  from  time  to  time  a  haunting  dread,  lest  by  evil 
chance  I  should  ever  sink  down  into  the  position  of  those 
renegades  from  civilisation,  whom  1  had  known,  in  the 
strange  world  of  "  The  Islands,"  and  as  often  pitied  or  de- 
spised. In  this  Robinson  Crusoe  existence  I  even  felt  a 
mild  interest  in  the  three  cattle  that  we  had  landed  at 
Utwe. 

They  had  found  their  way  over  to  the  lee  side  of  the 
island,  and  made  their  way  along  the  beach  to  Mout. 

One  day  little  Kinie  met  them,  and,  with  hair  flying  loose 
and  eyes  dilated  in  an  agony  of  terror,  fled  wildly  home. 
She  explained  to  me  incoherently  "that  she  had  met  three 


186  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

huge  pigs,  with  long  teeth  growing  out  of  their  heads  and 
eyes  as  big  as  cocoa-nuts." 

Kusis  and  I,  with  some  natives,  went  out  and  found  them 
walking  slowly  along  the  beach.  At  the  sound  of  my  voice 
they  stopped  and  let  me  come  up  to  them,  smelling  me  all 
over.  I  had  only  a  mat  round  my  waist,  for  my  European 
clothes  were  only  worn  on  great  occasions ;  but  they  evi- 
dently knew  me  for  a  different  being  to  those  around  them. 
We  drove  them  to  a  rich  piece  of  meadow  land,  where  they 
remained  during  the  rest  of  my  stay  on  the  island  —  fat, 
quiet,  and  contented. 

********* 

Early  one  morning  I  made  ready  for  a  start  back  to  Co- 
quille  harbour,  and  found  Kusis  awaiting  me  in  the  king's 
courtyard. 

Shortly  after  the  queen  came  out  and  told  me  that  I  must 
wait  for  breakfast,  or  the  king  would  be  offended.  Old 
Tokusar  then  appeared,  none  the  worse  for  the  night's 
potations,  and  we  sat  down  to  a  very  good  breakfast. 

He  told  me  that  he  had  intended  to  go  and  see  the  Cap- 
tain's village  at  Utw6,  but  that  Likiak  Sa  had  dissuaded  him 
by  telling  him  that  Hayston  would  seize  and  imprison  him. 

I  assured  the  king  that  this  was  a  pure  invention,  upon 
which  both  he  and  the  queen  said  they  would  take  my  word 
before  that  of  Likiak  Sa,  and  from  the  kindness  of  the  king 
and  his  subjects  at  Chabral  harbour,  I  felt  certain  that  my 
intercession  with  Hayston  on  behalf  of  the  villages  at 
Coquille  had  placed  me  high  in  their  regard. 

The  queen  pointed  to  a  pile  of  beautiful  mats,  quantities 
of  cooked  fowls,  pigeons,  pork,  fish,  and  fruit,  which  were 
being  carried  in  and  deposited  in  the  courtyard,  telling  me 
that  they  were  presents  from  the  king  and  herself,  and 
would  be  taken  doAvn  to  Mout  for  me  by  native  carriers. 

As  I  was  bidding  my  royal  friends  good-bye,  promising 


A   KING   AND   QUEEN  187 

to  come  and  see  them  whenever  I  got  tired  of  Mout,  Kitty 
of  Ebon  came  in,  and  quite  bore  out  the  description  Hay- 
ston  had  given  me  of  her  remarkable  beauty.  She  seemed 
a  very  intelligent  girl,  and  was  much  admired  by  the  king, 
who  kept  nudging  me,  and  saying  in  his  wheezy,  croaking 
voice,  "  Um,  ah!     What  you  tink  girl  like  that?  " 

He  then  fell  into  moody  silence,  upon  which  Queen  Se 
gave  him  a  scornful  glance,  exclaiming,  "For  shame!  old 
man  like  you,  sick  all  the  time,  look  so  much  at  young  girl 
like  Kitty  Ebon!     Captain  Hayston  teach  you  all  that." 

I  learnt  from  Kitty  that  Lalia  was  then  at  her  house  on 
a  visit,  and,  telling  the  king  and  queen  of  her  kindness  to 
me  when  I  was  ill  at  Utw6,  said  I  should  like  to  go  and  see 
her,  as  Kitty's  house  lay  in  the  direction  Kusis  and  I  were 
taking.  The  queen  generously  gave  me  a  small  work-box, 
with  the  necessary  fittings,  which  she  said  I  could  give  to 
Lalia.  It  was  quite  a  handsome  affair,  and  had  been  given 
to  the  queen  by  a  ship  captain;  but  she  had  never  used  it. 
Shaking  hands  with  Tokusar  and  Queen  Se,  we  set  out  on 
our  journey,  Kusis  leading  the  way,  Kitty  of  Ebon  and  I 
following,  and  the  carriers  in  the  rear. 

Kitty  was  very  lively,  and  startlingly  simple  in  manner. 
She  made  me  laugh  at  her  description  of  the  flirtations  of 
Captain  Hayston  and  the  queen  when  he  had  visited 
Strong's  Island  three  years  before  in  company  with  Captain 
Ben  Peese.  For  a  missionary's  housekeeper  Kitty  of  Ebon 
was  something  unique,  and  her  lively  sallies  kept  me 
amused  in  her  excellent  English  all  the  way.  I  was 
pleased  to  see  Lalia,  who  was  looking  as  beautiful  as 
ever.  Indeed,  it  was  hard  to  say  which  was  the  hand- 
somer, she  or  the  hostess. 

I  gave  her  the  work-box,  which  seemed  to  please  her  very 
much.  Then  Kitty  proposed  a  game  of  cards,  saying  it  was 
all  right,  as  we  need  not  play  for  money,  and  no  one  would 
tell  Mr.  Morland.     But  I  had  to  decline,  and,  saying  good- 


188  A    MODERN    BUCCANEEK 

bye  to  them  with  some  regrets,  I  rejoined  Kusis,  much 
wondering  inwardly  whether  Lalia,  with  her  sad,  bright 
eyes,  soft  voice,  and  gentle  manner,  could  really  have  been 
the  perpetrator  of  the  cruel  deed  in  the  mountain  forest 
of  Utw6. 


CHAPTER  XII 

"  MY    LORDS    OF    THE    ADMIRALTY  " 

In  October  I  received  another  letter  from  the  Captain, 
asking  me  to  meet  him  in  Chabral  harbour.  He  had  become 
so  tired  of  waiting  for  a  ship  that  he  had  decided  to  start 
in  a  boat  for  Mill6.  He  had  effected  a  reconciliation  with 
the  king,  and  was  paying  him  a  friendly  visit.  He  meant 
to  arrange  with  him  regarding  the  people  and  the  manage- 
ment of  the  station  at  Utw6  during  his  absence. 

I  left  Mout  at  daylight,  and,  as  I  said  good-bye  to  Tulp6 
and  the  little  daughter,  how  little  I  thought  that  I  should 
never  cross  their  hospitable  threshold  again ! 

Kusis  came  with  me,  and  we  took  the  route  by  the 
weather  side  of  the  island,  reaching  Lel6  in  the  afternoon. 
On  my  way  to  the  king's  house  we  came  across  a  number  of 
women  catching  shrimps  in  the  rivulet  that  runs  into 
Chabral  harbour,  and  among  them  were  Kitty  of  Ebon  and 
Lalia. 

These  two  called  to  us  to  stop,  as  they  had  news  for  me. 
Coming  oiTt  of  the  water,  they  threw  off  their  wet  clothes 
and  put  on  dry  ones.  Then  the  four  of  us  sat  down  on  a 
low  coral  wall  under  the  shade  of  some  trees. 

Kitty  of  Ebon  began  the  conversation  by  saying  that  the 
Captain  had  arrived  the  night  before,  and  had  a  long  talk 
with  the  king,  whom  he  told  that  he  was  going  to  try  and 
reach  Mille  in  the  largest  of  the  ship's  boats,  though  he 
would  have  to  contend  against  the  north-east   trades   the 

189 


190  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

whole  way.     He  wished  the  king  to  become  responsible 
for  the  management  and  safety  of  the  station  of  Utwe. 

This  the  king  didn't  see  his  way  to  do,  as  he  could  never 
control  the  Pleasant  islanders.  The  remaining  white  men 
at  Chabral  harbour  would  regain  their  control  over  them  as 
soon  as  Hayston  had  left ;  that  it  was  not  wise  of  the  Cap- 
tain to  attempt  to  reach  Mill^. 

He  also  showed  great  fear  of  being  punished  if  the  Cap- 
tain came  back  and  found  his  station  pillaged. 

Kitty  of  Ebon,  who  was  present  at  the  interview,  further 
narrated  that  the  king,  finding  that  Hayston  was  bent  on 
setting  out  for  MilM,  made  another  proposal  to  the  Captain, 
who  had  accepted  it  on  the  condition  that  I  would  concur. 
This  was  that  all  the  oil,  boats,  and  stores,  with  the  women, 
should  be  conveyed  to  Chabral  harbour  and  put  under  the 
king's  protection,  who  professed  then  to  be  anxious  that  I 
should  come  and  live  with  him  in  case  the  traders  made  an 
attack  on  him,  and  tried  to  seize  the  property  or  carry  off 
the  women. 

Both  Kitty  and  Lalia  urged  me  not  to  do  this,  for,  they 
said,  "  as  soon  as  the  Captain  goes  away  there  will  be  fight- 
ing here;  the  king  is  weak,  and  the  traders  do  not  fear 
him.  Besides,  they  are  plotting  with  Likiak  Sa,  the  mis- 
sionary, who  has  promised  them  to  win  the  king  over. 
They  say  that  you  and  Black  Johnny  are  the  only  two  men 
that  will  stand  by  the  Captain's  property  when  guns  and 
knives  are  out,  as  young  Harry  is  to  stay  at  Utw6  till  the 
Captain  returns." 

I  inquired  of  the  girls  what  the  traders  proposed  doing 
with  me? 

"Shoot  you,  Black  Johnny,  and  young  Harry.  Then, 
when  the  Captain  is  once  aAvay,  they  will  be  strong  enough, 
and  the  king  will  not  interfere  with  them." 

Lalia  then  told  me  that  one  of  the  trader's  wives  had  told 
her  that  they  had  arranged  to  have  us  three  shot  by  some 


"MY   LORDS   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY"  l9l 

of  their  natives  as  soon  as  the  Captain  had  left  for  Mill^. 
The  girls  again  urged  me  not  to  comply  with  the  king's 
request,  and  to  dissuade  Hayston  from  his  intended  voy- 
age. Indeed,  they  tried  to  prevent  me  from  going  to  the 
king  at  all,  Kitty  urging  me  to  come  to  her  house,  and 
write  a  letter  to  the  Captain  asking  him  to  meet  me 
there. 

The  thought  of  the  Captain  being  a  victim,  as  well  as 
myself  and  young  Harry,  to  such  treachery  decided  me  in 
an  instant,  and  breaking  away  from  the  women,  Kusis  and 
I  soon  reached  the  king's  house. 

The  traders  who  were  living  at  Chabral  kept  carefully 
within  doors.  When  I  reached  the  courtyard  of  the  king's 
house  I  found  no  one  there  but  His  Majesty  and  Likiak  Sa 
engaged  in  earnest  conversation.  The  native  missionary 
glanced  uneasily  at  me,  and  I  at  once  opened  out  on  him  by 
calling  him  a  treacherous  dog,  striking  him  at  the  same 
time,  and  threatening  him  with  the  Captain's  vengeance. 
He  picked  himself  up  and  left. 

"Where  is  the  Captain?"  I  said  to  the  king. 

"In  my  oil-shed,"  he  answered  in  a  troubled  voice. 

But  I  said  nothing  to  him,  and,  finding  Hayston,  shortly 
made  him  acquainted  with  what  I  had  learnt  from  Kitty  of 
Ebon.     His  face  darkened  as  he  strode  off  to  the  king. 

At  that  moment  the  natives  called  out  that  there  was  a 
vessel  in  sight,  upon  which  he  turned  back,  and  together  we 
"walked  to  the  beach  in  time  to  see  a  fine  fore  and  aft 
schooner  sailing  in,  which  Hayston  declared  was  the 
Matautu,  belonging  to  Captain  Warner. 

"He  would  never  have  ventured  in  if  he  knew  I  was 
here, "  quoth  the  Captain  grimly ;  "  and  if  I  had  a  few  of 
my  boys  he'd  never  go  out  again,  unless  the  schooner  had  a 
new  master." 

I  reasoned  with  him  against  the  folly  of  such  an  action, 
when  he  said  that  he  would  use  fair  means  at  first,  and 


192  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

would  try  and  charter  the  Matautu.  He  then  went  to 
the  king,  and  I  could  see  meant  mischief.  I  was  glad 
to  notice  the  traders  getting  into  canoes  and  making  for 
the  schooner,  where  they  no  doubt  thought  they  Avould 
be  safe,  as  Hayston  had  only  two  native  boys  with  him, 
and  would  hardly  attempt  to  tackle  the  schooner  single- 
handed. 

Likiak  Sa  was  again  with  the  king  when  we  returned. 
However,  he  ran  away  at  once,  narrowly  missing  a  chair 
which  the  Captain  threw  at  him.  Old  Tokusar  seemed 
scared,  as  he  watched  the  Captain's  darkening  face.  He 
inquired  in  a  shaking  voice,  "Why  you  so  much  angry?" 

"Because,"  answered  the  Captain,  "the  men  who  have 
been  living  on  my  food  have  been  plotting  against  me,  and 
that  scheming  missionary  is  at  the  bottom  of  it;  but  look 
you.  King  Tokusar,  and  mark  my  words  well !  If  I  suspect 
you,  too,  I  will  burn  your  house  and  town,  and  drown  you 
like  a  rat  in  your  own  turtle  pond !  " 

"Captain,"  I  said,  "what  folly!  You  are  here  almost 
alone,  and  all  but  in  the  power  of  your  enemies.  Return  to 
the  boats  and  get  back  to  Utw6." 

He  calmed  down  almost  immediately,  and  said  he  would 
see  Captain  Warner.  He  asked  me  to  come  with  him.  I 
mentioned  the  fact  of  the  traders  being  on  board  the  ship, 
and  urged  him  to  be  cautious. 

We  got  in  the  boats,  and  pulled  towards  the  schooner. 
Before  we  were  half-way  across  the  Captain  laughed  con- 
temptuously, and  pointed  to  the  traders,  who  were  already 
leaving  the  schooner's  side  in  canoes,  and  making  rapidly 
for  the  western  side  of  the  harbour. 

Captain  Warner  seemed  under  great  excitement  when 
we  stepped  on  deck,  but  the  cordial  manner  of  Hayston's 
greeting  at  once  reassured  him,  so  that  we  were  received 
most  politely  and  asked  below. 

Captain   Warner    seemed   so    intensely   amiable   that   I 


"MY    LORDS    OF    THE    ADxMIRALTY  "  193 

could  hardly  help  laughing,  and  as  he  kept  his  glass  con- 
stantly filled,  or  rather  emptied,  his  amiability  increased 
proportionately. 

In  the  course  of  conversation  a  discussion  arose  as  to 
some  business  transactions  with  Hayston  while  we  were  at 
Ponape,  and  the  skipper  laughingly  remarked  that  he  had 
over-reached  liim  in  the  matter.  The  Captain,  who  was 
now  perfectly  calm,  gave  a  pleasantly-worded  denial,  and 
said,  "No,  Captain  Warner,  I  think  my  supercargo  must 
have  got  to  windward  of  you  there." 

A  quarrel  ensued  forthwith.  The  burly  skipper  became 
offensive,  and  it  ended  in  our  agreeing  to  meet  with  pistols 
on  the  beach  at  daylight  next  morning. 

However,  at  dawn  the  Matautu  had  towed  out  with  the 
first  breath  of  the  land-breeze,  and  was  already  outside 
the  passage  standing  to  the  westward.  So  the  duel  did  not 
come  off.  I  honestly  think  the  skipper  was  not  afraid, 
but  I  suspect  he  decided  not  to  risk  another  encounter  with 
Hayston,  and  so  thought  discretion  was  the  better  part  of 
valour. 

Next  day  we  again  heard  the  stirring  cry  of  "  Sail  ho !  " 
The  new  arrival  was  the  Morning  Star  from  Honolulu, 
from  which  about  ten  o'clock  landed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mor- 
land  —  a  portly,  white  bearded  old  gentleman,  who  at  once 
made  his  way  to  his  residence,  while  the  Captain  and  I 
returned  to  South  harbour.  Kusis  went  home,  with  a 
promise  from  me  to  follow  him  next  day,  the  honest  fellow 
begging  me  to  delay  as  little  as  possible. 

It  was  dark  when  Ave  started,  and  a  fierce  black  squall 
struck  us  just  after  we  got  out  of  the  passage,  nearly  cap- 
sizing the  boat.  The  Captain  thought  we  had  better  return, 
but  I  was  anxious  to  get  back  to  Mout,  and  said  I  was  sure 
the  squall  would  not  last.  So  we  reefed  the  sail  and  dashed 
out  to  sea  close-hauled,  for  the  squall  came  from  the  west- 
ward, and  was  dead  against  us.     However,  the  wind  con- 

o 


194  A   MODERN   BUCCANEErt 

tinued  to  increase,  and  the  little  boat  shipped  two  or  three 
heavy  seas.     So  we  agreed  to  turn  back. 

We  went  about  in  a  lull,  and  had  made  the  entrance  to 
the  passage,  as  we  thought,  when  the  Captain  called  out, 
"Look  out!  here  comes  a  sea!  " 

Looking  back,  I  saw  a  huge  black  roller  almost  on  top  of 
us.  The  next  minute  I  felt  we  had  touched.  I  shouted, 
"By  Jove!  we're  not  in  the  passage  at  all  —  it's  only  a 
creek  in  the  reef.     Jump  out,  quick !  " 

We  all  sprang  out  of  the  boat  on  to  the  jagged  coral,  then 
the  waves,  poised  high  in  air,  dashed  down  upon  us,  and 
we  were  all  washed  clear  over  into  a  pool  of  smooth  water. 
The  boat  was  capsized,  and  with  broken  masts  and  oars 
gone,  was  swept  in  far  ahead  of  us,  till  she  disappeared  in 
the  darkness.  We  clung  to  the  reef  as  best  we  could,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  a  coral  "  mushroom  "  that  was  just 
awash.  "We'll  be  all  right  here," said  the  Captain,  in  his 
cool,  cheerful  way;  "are  you  boys  all  right?"  —  the  two 
native  boys  were,  like  ourselves,  cut  about  the  arms  and 
legs  by  the  coral.  But  they  thouglit  nothing  of  that. 
What  thej^  dreaded  were  the  shai'ks ! 

Fortunately  the  tide  was  falling,  and  the  coral  knoll  was 
gradually  showing  more  of  its  surface  above  the  water. 
Otherwise  none  of  us  would  have  reached  the  shore;  for 
in  these  deep  water  passages  the  sharks  literally  swarm. 

A  sea  occasionally  broke  close  to  us,  but  not  with  suffi- 
cient force  to  wash  any  of  us  away.  Suddenly  the  Captain 
said,  "Boys,  I  see  some  people  fishing  ashore  with  torches," 
and  he  gave  a  resounding  hail.  An  answer  came  back,  and, 
what  was  more  to  the  purpose,  a  canoe,  in  which  we  were 
rescued  from  our  precarious  position  and  taken  ashore. 
The  boat  was  searched  for,  and  found  drifting  out  to  sea. 
But  as  long  as  I  live  I  shall  never  forget  the  horrible  feel- 
ing of  standing  on  that  coral  knoll,  in  the  wave-washed 
darkness,  knowing  that  if  we  were  once  dislodged  there  was 


"MY   LORDS   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY"  195 

no  chance  of  escaping  the  sharks.  We  were  all  good  swim- 
mers, but  the  Kusaie  natives  told  us  that  the  passage  of 
Chabral  harbour  was  swarming  with  tlie  dreaded  reef-shark, 
that  seeks  its  prey,  chiefly  turtle,  in  the  foam  and  swirl  of 
the  breakers  on  the  reef.  We  slept  that  night  in  a  native 
house,  some  distance  from  the  village  of  Lele,  and  at  day- 
light proceeded  along  the  beach  to  the  king's  house.  The 
old  king  did  not  appear;  the  queen  was  very  hospitable  to 
us,  but  seemed  nervous  and  constrained  in  her  manner  to 
the  Captain.  Once  when  I  was  standing  apart  from  him, 
she  said  in  a  low  tone  that  I  had  better  return  to  Mout, 
Avhere  I  would  be  safe,  adding,  "  Don't  stay  along  with  Cap- 
tain. Man-of-war  come  from  Honolulu  to  take  him  away. 
By  and  by  I  tell  him." 

I  afterwards  regretted  that  I  did  not  attach  more  impor- 
tance to  her  warning,  and  tell  the  Captain;  subsequent 
events  showed  that  both  the  king  and  queen  had  been  in- 
formed by  Mr.  Morland  of  the  impending  arrival  of  a  man- 
of-war,  which  had  been  searching  for  Hayston  for  months 
previously.  Later  in  the  day,  while  the  Captain  was 
superintending  repairs  to  the  boat,  Mr.  Morland  and  the 
native  colleague  were  announced.  The  white  missionary 
requested  to  see  the  Captain.  I  may  mention,  that  during 
our  cruise  to  the  north-west  in  the  Leonora  we  had  occa- 
sionally met  with  the  missionary  brig.  Morning  Star,  and 
had  been  visited  by  Mr.  Morland  once  or  twice. 

On  this  occasion  he  met  us  with  the  usual  smile  and  out- 
stretched hand. 

"How  do  you  do.  Captain  Hayston?  I  am  glad  —  very 
glad  to  see  you,  and  yet  sorry;  for  you  have  my  sincere 
sympathy  for  the  loss  of  your  beautiful  vessel." 

"  Morland ! "  came  the  quick  reply,  "  you  know  you  are 
lying  most  infernally.  You  are  no  more  pleased  to  see  me 
than  I  am  to  see  you.  Our  interests  are  too  antagonistic  for 
us  to  take  kindly  to  each  other.    So  let  us  at  least  be  candid !  " 


19(5  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

"Oh!  Captain  Hayston!"  rejoined  Mr.  Morland,  "you 
terribly  unkind  man!  Why  must  you  hate  the  poor  parson 
so?  Oh!  my  friend,  my  countryman,  let  us  shake  hands 
as  fellow-Christians  should  do  when  they  meet  in  these 
lonely,  beautiful  spots  of  God's  bright  universe!  " 

Hayston  smiled,  but  if  he  had  but  known  that  Mr.  Mor- 
land was,  even  then,  anxiously  looking  for  the  tall  spars 
of  one  of  Her  Majesty's  warships,  and  had  actually  been  in 
communication  with  her  captain  a  few  days  previously,  he 
would  possibly  have  half-strangled  his  pleasant-mannered 
visitor  then  and  there. 

After  a  short  chat  the  missionary  returned  to  the  king's 
house  with  the  Captain,  while  I  busied  myself  with  the 
repairs  of  the  boat,  when  the  startling  cry  of  "Sail  ho!" 
rang  through  the  quiet  village.  I  ran  up  to  the  king's 
house,  and  found  the  Captain  in  the  courtyard  playing  a 
game  of  dominoes  with  Queen  Se. 

The  missionary  and  Likiak  Sa  were  just  coming  out  from 
an  interview  with  the  king.  The  air  of  exultation  on  their 
faces  as  they  saw  the  natives  hurrying  to  and  fro  at  the 
cry  of  "Sail  ho!  "  struck  me  at  once. 

The  Captain  sprang  up  at  once, and  said,  "Let  us  take  the 
boat  and  go  out  to  her,  she  may  want  a  pilot " ;  and  we 
walked  through  the  house  to  the  stone  wharf  that  abutted 
on  one  side  of  the  king's  establishment.  We  jumped  into 
the  boat,  and  with  a  crew  of  four  natives  pulled  quickly 
out  of  the  passage.  On  gaining  the  open  we  could  see  no 
sail,  and  concluded  that  the  ship  must  be  coming  round  the 
north-eastern  side  of  the  island,  where  she  had  been  sighted 
by  the  natives.  We  then  set  sail,  and  commenced  beating 
to  windward,  and  about  half-an-hour  afterwards,  as  the 
little  boat  rode  on  the  swell,  we  got  a  sight  of  the  lofty 
masts  and  square  yards  of  a  man-of-war  under  steam,  as 
she  rounded  the  high  land  on  the  north-east  side  of  the 
island. 


"MY    LORDS   OF   THE    ADMIRALTY"  197 

With  a  sudden  exclamation  the  Captain  stood  up  and 
gazed  at  the  steamer.  He  then  seated  himself  and  seemed 
lost  in  thought.  The  great  vessel  came  steadily  on,  then 
altered  her  course  by  a  couple  of  points,  and  steered  in  the 
direction  of  the  passage.  I  could  see  that  she  was  under  a 
full  head  of  steam,  and  was  travelling  at  a  great  rate.  A 
volume  of  thick  smoke  was  issuing  from  the  yellow  funnel, 
and  as  there  is  always  a  heavy  sea  off  the  windward  side  of 
Strong's  Island  she  rolled  tremendously,  the  water  pour- 
ing from  her  black  painted  sides  in  sheets. 

The  Captain  watched  her  intently.  "That's  a  man-of- 
war,  Hilary!  and  a  Britisher  too,"  he  said.  "Though  she 
may  be  an  American  —  the  Portsmouth  or  the  Jamestown; 
I  can't  tell  with  that  smoke  blowing  ahead  of  her.  If  she's 
an  American  cruiser,  she'll  take  me  prisoner  right  enough. 
It's  no  use  attempting  to  escape  now.  It's  too  late;  I  must 
take  my  chance.  In  that  case  you  must  get  away  to  Utwe 
as  quick  as  possible,  and  do  the  best  you  can  with  the 
station  and  the  people.  You  know  where  the  money  is 
stowed  away,  and  what  to  do  with  it  if  we  are  fated  not  to 
meet  again," 


* 


As  he  said  these  words  the  smoke  cleared  away  from  the 
cruiser,  and  we  had  a  splendid  view  of  her  as  she  rose 
majestically  to  a  heavy  sea,  and  fell  gracefully  into  the 

trough   again.       "  A   Britisher,  by !  "    exclaimed  the 

Captain,  "and  a  beauty  too;  give  way,  my  lads,  she's 
stopped  her  engines.  Let  us  get  aboard,  and  I'll  soon  learn 
what's  in  store  for  me." 

In  order  that  it  may  be  understood  what  reason  the  Cap- 
tain had  for  these  strong  suspicions  of  arrest  and  impris- 
onment, I  will  here  make  quotation  from  the  Queensland 
Government  Gazette,  an  official  journal  of  severely  correct 
character,  which,  like  "the  Ajxparatus,  cannot  lie." 


198  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

Colonial  Secretary's  Office, 

Brisbane,  20th  Atigtist  1875. 

His  Excellency  directs  the  subjoined  circular  despatch  received 
from  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  together  with  the  en- 
closed correspondence  with  the  Board  of  Admiralty,  respecting  the 
proceedings  in  the  South  Seas  of  W.  H.  Hayston,  a  United  States' 
subject,  and  master  of  the  American  brig  Leonora,  to  be  published 

in  the  Gazette  for  general  information. 

A.  Macalister. 

The  Admiralty  to  the  Colonial  Office. 

Admiralty,  I2th  January  1875. 

Sir,  —  I  am  commanded  by  the  my  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty  to  transmit  herewith,  for  the  information  of  the  Earl  of 
Carnarvon,  a  letter  and  its  enclosures  from  Commodore  Goodenough, 
Senior  Naval  <  )fficer  of  the  Australasian  Station,  reporting  the  pro- 
ceedings of  W.  H.  Hayston,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  mas- 
ter of  the  late  American  brig  Leonora.  It  is  requested  that  these 
papers  be  returned  in  order  that  they  may  be  sent  to  the  Foreign 

Office.  —  I  am,  etc. 

(Signed)  Robert  Hall. 

The  Under  Secretary  of  State, 
Colonial  Office. 

Admiral  Cochrane  to  the  Admiralty. 

Bepulse  at  Callao,  28f/i  Fehruary  1875. 

Sir,  —  I  have  the  honour  to  forward  for  the  information  of  their 
Lordships  a  copy  of  correspondence  which  I  have  received  from 
Commodore  Goodenough,  commanding  the  Australian  Station. 

2.  The  correspondence  has  reference  to  the  very  irregular  conduct 
of  a  master  of  a  trading  brig  lately  wrecked.  The  master  is  believed 
to  be  an  American. 

3.  Commodore  Goodenough  requested  that  the  documents  contain- 
ing evidence  tending  to  substantiate  the  charges  against  the  said  mas- 
ter should  be  forwarded  to  the  American  admiral  commanding  the 
North  Pacific  Station.  The  islands  where  the  occurrences  referred  to 
took  place  are  not  included  in  the  Pacific  Station.  — I  am,  etc. 

(Signed)  A.  A.  Cochrane. 
Rear  Admiral  and  Commander-in-Chief. 


"MY  LORDS   OF    THE   ADMIRALTY"  199 

H.M.S.  Repulse., 
Callao,  2%th  February  1875. 

Sir,  — I  have  the  honour  to  forward  for  your  perusal  copies  of  cor- 
respondence I  have  received  from  Commodore  Goodenougli  in  com- 
mand of  H.M.  ships  on  the  Australian  Station,  relative  to  the  highly 
irregular  proceedings  of  a  master  of  a  vessel  trading  among  the  South 
Sea  Islands.     He  is  believed  to  be  an  American  citizen. 

I  should  be  much  gratified  if  circumstances  enable  you  to  cause 
inquiry  into  the  subject  of  the  charges  enumerated.  —  I  have,  etc. 

(Signed)  A.  A.  Cochrane, 
Eear  Admiral  and  Commander-in-Chief. 

Circular. 

Downing  Street,  \Zth  May  1875. 

Sir,  — I  have  the  honour  to  transmit  to  you  copies  of  a  correspond- 
ence with  the  Board  of  Admiralty  respecting  the  proceedings  in  the 
South  Seas  of  W.  H.  Hayston,  a  United  States'  subject,  and  master  of 
the  late  American  brig  Leonora.  In  connection  with  the  lawless  con- 
duct of  Hayston,  as  reported  in  the  papers  now  transmitted,  I  beg  to 
refer  you  to  my  predecessor's  Circular  Despatch  of  22nd  December 
1875,  relating  to  the  proceedings  in  the  case  of  the  Atlantic,  and  I 
desire  to  express  my  entire  concurrence  in  the  hope  expressed  by 
Lord  Kimberley,  that  no  opportunity  may  be  lost  of  bringing  the  man 
to  trial.  —  I  have,  etc. 

Carnarvon. 
To  the  Officer  administering  the 

Government  of  Queensland. 

Proceedings  of  H.M.S.  Rosario  in  the  South  Sea  Islands.     Criminal 
acts  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Hayston,  master  of  the  brig  Leonora. 

H.M.S.  Pearl,  16th  November  1874. 

Sir,  —  I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  for  the  information  of  the 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty,  a  Report  and  various  papers 
furnished  to  me  by  Commander  Dupont  of  H.M.S.  Rosario,  concern- 
ing a  Mr.  "William  H.  Hayston,  master  of  the  late  American  brig 
Leonora. 

2.  This  Mr.  Hayston  has  long  been  known  among  the  Pacific 
Islands  as  a  collector  of  produce,  and  has  the  reputation  of  defraud- 


200  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

ing  natives  and  lifting  produce  collected  by  other  traders.  He  has 
been  spoken  of  in  correspondence  between  this  and  the  Chinese  Sta- 
tion as  "  the  notorious  Captain  Hayston,"  but  hitherto  no  evidence  on 
which  he  could  be  convicted  of  any  piratical  act  has  been  brought 
before  me. 

8.  It  seemed  possible  that  Commander  Dupont,  while  cruising  in 
1 1.  M.S.  Rosario  among  the  Gilbert  and  Ellice  Islands,  and  watching 
the  labour  traflfic,  might  be  able  to  gather  some  evidence  which  would 
enable  him  to  detain  this  person,  who  is  doing  much  harm  among 
the  islands.     A  copy  of  my  orders  to  Commander  Dupont  is  enclosed. 

4.  Commander  Dupont  seems  only  to  have  obtained  the  evidence 
which  he  desired  against  Hayston  after  he  had  learned  of  his  escape, 
and  he  is  satisfied  from  inspection  of  Hayston's  papers  that  he  is  an 
American  citizen. 

5.  Commander  Dupont  brought  away  with  him  from  Strong's 
Island  the  crew  of  Hayston's  vessel,  the  Leonora,  which  was  wrecked 
there  in  March  last,  and  also  one  Hilary  Telfer,  who  had  proceeded 
from  Samoa  to  Mille  as  supercargo  of  a  vessel  called  the  E.  A.  Wilson, 
and  belonging  to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Mr.  Wilson,  H.M.  Consul 
from  Samoa. 

6.  This  Mr.  Telfer  carried  with  him  from  Samoa  orders  from 
Mr.  Wilson  to  put  the  E.  A.  Wilson  and  the  cargo  into  Hayston's 
hands  to  be  sold,  and  in  course  of  business  appears  to  have  become  so 
mixed  up  in  Hayston's  affairs,  that  the  latter  made  him  his  agent  and 
entrusted  him  with  letters  to  all  his  subordinate  agents,  informing 
them  that  he  had  been  seized  by  the  Rosario  for  conveyance  to 
Sydney. 

7.  I  was  in  Samoa  in  H.M.S.  Pearl  in  November  1873.  The 
ketch  E.  A.  Wilson  was  then  there  under  repairs.  Mr.  S.  D.  Wilson 
told  me  nothing  of  his  intentions  regarding  the  vessel,  but  gave  me 
to  understand  that  Mr.  Hayston  was  a  great  rascal,  who  had  cleverly 
outwitted  all  inquiries.  He  offered  to  obtain  evidence  from  a  half- 
caste,  and  at  my  desire  took  the  statements  (which  proved  valueless) 
on  oath.  Yet  on  December  3,  1873,  he  enters  into  communication 
with  this  man,  against  whom  he  had  pretended  to  give  me  information. 

8.  I  consider  the  whole  affair  as  most  unsatisfactory,  even  regard- 
ing Mr.  Wilson  as  a  trader.  In  the  position  of  Her  Majesty's  Acting 
Consul,  I  consider  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  improper  behaviour,  ren- 
dering him  unworthy  to  occupy  such  a  position.  The  desirability  of 
appointing  a  non-trading  Consul  in  Samoa  has  already  been  pointed 
out  by  both  myself  and  my  predecessor  on  this  Station. 


"MY   LORDS   OF   THE   ADMIRALTY"  201 

9.  The  papers  I  enclose  concerning  Ilayston  will  illustrate  the  life 
of  a  modern  South-Sea  filibuster.  —  I  have  the  lionour  to  be,  your 
obedient  servant, 

James  G.  Goodenough, 
Captain  and  Couiiiiodore,  '2nd  Class, 

Commanding  Australian  Station. 
To  the  Secretary. 

Enclosure  No.  2. 

H.M.S.  Eosario, 
At  Sea,  Lat.  2°  26'  N.,  Long.  167°  19'  E., 
10th  October  1874. 

Sir,  —  With  reference  to  Mr.  Hayston,  master  of  the  American 
brig  Leonora,  I  beg  to  forward  the  following  statement  of  facts  rela- 
tive to  him  that  I  have  been  able  to  collect  among  the  different  islands 
visited  during  my  present  cruise :  — 

1.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  Mr.  Hayston  is  a  shrewd,  un- 
principled man,  who  has  committed  acts  of  violence  towards  the 
natives,  and  been  guilty  of  unjustifiable  acts  towards  other  persons. 
Yet,  so  greatly  has  his  name  got  to  be  feared,  by  both  natives  and 
white  men  on  the  islands,  that,  though  it  was  evident  that  at  nearly 
all  the  islands  I  visited  he  was  well  known,  it  was  impossible  to  find 
out  much  about  him. 

2.  With  respect  to  Mr.  Dunn's  business,  what  evidence  I  could  get 
was  mainly  in  Hayston's  favour,  and  tended  to  show  that  Dunn's 
agents  had  sold  the  trade  to  Hayston  instead  of  his  taking  it.  This  is 
certainly  the  case  as  regards  an  Englishman  named  George  Winch- 
combe,  whom  I  found  living  on  Nukufutau,  one  of  the  EUice  group. 
He  himself  stated  to  me  that  he  left  Sydney  with  Dunn,  in  the  under- 
standing that  he  was  to  be  found  at  a  station  on  one  of  the  islands. 
He  complained  that  Dunn  treated  him  badly  on  board,  and  eventually 
sent  him  on  shore  on  the  island  of  Apaiari  (Gilbert  group)  to  collect 
trade.  He  was  dissatisfied  with  his  life,  much  in  dread  of  the  natives, 
and  on  Hayston's  coming  there  in  the  beginning  of  1873,  he  begged 
him  to  take  him  off  the  island,  and  offered  to  sell  him  all  the  trade  he 
had  collected.  Hayston  accordingly  took  him.  At»another  island, 
Tarawa,  the  only  white  resident  had  heard  that  some  trade  had  been 
removed  by  Hayston,  but  was  not  on  the  island  at  the  time.  At  other 
islands  I  heard  things  relative  to  Dunn's  property,  but  could  get 
nothing  but  hearsay  evidence.  I  could  not  find  a  single  individual, 
either  white  or  native,  who  could  furnish  me  with  any  positive  evi- 
dence or  proof  against  Hayston. 


202  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

On  entering  Chabral  harbour  (Strong's  Island)  Mr.  Hayston,  as 
I  have  reported  in  my  letter  of  proceedings,  came  out  to  meet  the 
ship  in  a  boat.  He  told  that  his  vessel  had  been  wrecked  in  South 
harbour  of  the  island  on  the  15th  of  March  this  year,  since  v?hich  date 
he  had  been  living  on  shore  collecting  oil. 

Mr.  Morland,  an  American  missionary,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
Ebon  Island,  and  numerous  white  men  —  the  late  crew  of  the  Leonora 
—  were  also  there.  A  schooner  under  the  German  flag,  Mr.  Miller 
an  Englishman  master,  lay  in  the  harbour.  I  commenced  making 
inquiries  as  quietly  as  possible  about  Hayston,  but  here,  as  at  other 
places,  I  met  with  disinclination  from  all  traders  to  tell  me  anything 
they  might  know ;  Mr.  Miller,  though  hinting  that  Hayston  had 
robbed  him  not  long  since,  would  at  first  say  nothing,  nor  was  it  till 
after  considerable  persuasion  and  the  delay  of  some  days  that  I  got 
the  enclosed  statement,  with  the  various  witnesses  in  the  matter, 
from  him. 

But  as  he  was  sailing  under  German  colours,  I  could  not  believe 
my  duty  was  to  do  more  than  receive  the  statements  and  forward  it 
through  you  to  the  German  Consul  in  Sydney. 

Hayston,  apprised  by  some  of  the  crew  of  the  inquiries  that  had 
been  made,  left  the  island  in  a  boat  on  the  night  of  the  27th.  His 
design  was,  I  believe,  either  to  make  the  island  of  Ascension  or  that 
of  Pingelap.  At  their  own  request,  and  also  considering  it  a  good 
thing  for  the  island  to  be  rid  of  them,  I  took  five  of  the  crew  of  the 
Leonora  on  board  for  passage  to  Sydney,  and  also  one  other  person 
who  had  been  a  passenger  on  board,  and  also,  from  what  I  could  hear, 
a  great  friend  of  Hayston.  This  Hilary  Telfer  was  the  person  who 
had  been  sent  by  Mr.  Wilson,  British  Consul  at  Samoa,  as  supercargo 
of  the  ketch  that  I  met  at  Mille,  but  leaving  his  charge  there,  had 
gone  to  sea  with  Hayston  and  been  with  him  since  January.  I  deemed 
it  advisable  that  he  should  be  removed,  there  being  no  chance  of  his 
getting  back  to  Mille  from  Strong's  Island,  and  also  because  the  chief 
particularly  desired  his  removal,  as  being  likely  to  stir  up  trouble  in 
the  island.     These  six  persons  are  now  on  board. 

I  visited  Mr.  flayston's  residence  at  South  harbour ;  he  had  made 
a  regular  settlement  of  it,  and  had  collected  a  large  quantity  of  oil. 
No  less  than  five  young  women  were  living  in  his  house,  who  had  all 
with  one  exception  been  living  on  board  the  Leonora.  That  vessel 
was  sunk  in  fourteen  fathoms,  her  topmast  head  a  few  feet  above 
water. 

The  first  mate  I  left  on  the  island,  recommending  him  to  take 


"MY    LORDS    OF   THE   ADMIRALTY"  203 

charge  of  Hayston's  property.     The  second  mate,  William  Hicks,  ran 

away  into  the  bush  and  couldn't  bo  found,  otherwise  I  should  have 

taken  him  to  Sydney  with  the  others.     Thinking  the  case  over  quietly 

afterwards,  I  cannot  see  how  I  could  have  arrested  Hayston.     It  is, 

therefore,  with  great  regret  that  I  am  obliged  to  report  my  failure  to 

collect  sufficient  evidence  against  him  to  warrant  my  doing  so.    The 

case  of  Mr.  Dunn  must  have  failed  from  want  of  such  evidence.  —  I 

have,  etc.,  etc. 

A.  E.  DupoNT, 

Commander. 
To  Commodore  J.  G.  Goodenough, 

H.M.8.  Pearl. 

Enclosure  No.  13. 
Messrs.  Miller  and  Warne  to  Mr.  Hilary  Telfer,  Supercargo. 

Dear  Sir,  —  You  will  proceed  from  hence  to  Mille,  Mulgrave  Island, 
for  the  purpose  of  selling  the  ketch  A.  E.  W.  You  will  find  Captain 
Hayston  there  waiting  for  you,  so  you  will  please  consult  with  him,  as 
he  is  acquainted  with  the  people  who  wish  to  purchase  the  ketch. 
Try  to  obtain  oil  or  copra  to  the  amount  of  .f  .300  for  her.  Ship  what- 
ever produce  you  may  get  on  board  the  Leonora,  and  get  Captain 
Hayston  to  sign  bills  of  lading.  Do  not  sell  the  chronometer  unless 
you  get  a  good  price  for  it.  Sell  the  few  things  you  take  to  the  best 
advantage.  None  of  the  Samoans  are  to  remain,  but  to  come  back  to 
Apia.  Have  the  ketch  painted  at  Mille.  —  Wishing  you  a  prosperous 
and  speedy  voyage,  we  are,  etc., 

(Signed)  Miller  and  Warne. 

Enclosure  No.  15. 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  I,  William  Henry  Hayston, 
Master  mariner,  now  residing  on  Strong's  Island,  in  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean,  have  made,  constituted,  and  appointed  Hilary  Telfer,  of  Syd- 
ney, New  South  Wales,  at  present  residing  on  this  island  of  Kusaie 
(or  Strong's  Island),  to  be  my  true  and  lawful  agent  for  me,  and,  in 
my  place  and  stead,  to  enter  into  and  take  possession  of  my  station 
situated  at  Maloe,  near  the  village  of  Utwe,  South  harbour,  on  the 
above-named  island.  Also  all  my  oil,  casks,  tobacco,  and  other  trade 
which  may  be  on  said  station.  Also  boats,  canoe,  pigs,  fowls,  posses- 
sions —  all  and  everything,  whether  of  value  or  not,  together  with  my 


204  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

furniture  and  private  effects,  and  to  take  full  charge  of  all  my  business 
on  the  above-named  island  during  my  trip  to  the  eastward. 

(Signed)  W.  H,  Hayston, 

In  the  presence  of  the  undersigned  \vitne88, 
this  19th  August  1874. 
(Signed)  Charles  Roberts. 


Enclosure  No.  16. 
Memorandum  of  Instructions  for  Mr.   Hilary  Telfer. 

Sir,  —  As  I  am  about  to  leave  Strong's  Island,  and  have  given  you 
power  to  act  on  my  behalf,  I  wish  you  to  close  up  all  my  affairs  in  the 
best  manner  you  can.  You  will  look  after  the  property  I  leave  behind, 
and  dispose  of  it  to  the  best  advantage.  Out  of  the  remainder  of  the 
oil  you  can  pay  yourself  for  the  chronometer,  and  Mr.  Harry  Skillings 
for  the  trade  I  had  from  him.  Sell  the  balance,  including  the  large 
cargo-boat,  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  offers.  Anything  left  over  you 
can  give  to  the  people  that  have  been  kind  to  you,  and  the  natives. 
Out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  you  can  pay  for  the  passage  of  my 
natives  to  Samoa,  if  they  want  to  go  there.  If  not,  see  them  back  on 
their  own  island,  or  on  some  of  the  Kingsmill  group,  that  they  may 
get  with  their  own  country  people. 

My  native  boy  Toby  I  wish  you  to  take  to  Samoa,  and  look  after 
him  as  well  as  you  can  ;  also  Kitty,  as  they  have  no  father  or  mother. 
Both  were  given  to  me  by  the  king  of  Hope  Island.  The  stores  I  left 
behind  are  for  you  and  the  natives  to  live  on  till  you  can  get  away. 
Be  careful  of  the  little  trade  I  leave  you,  as  the  Strong's  islanders 
want  payment  for  everything  you  get  of  them  to  eat.  You  will  also 
bear  in  mind  that  the  king  owes  me  12,100  cocoa-nuts,  the  balance  of 
the  48,000  that  he  agreed  to  pay  me  for  the  property  stolen  by  the 
Strong's  islanders  at  the  time  of  the  loss  of  the  brig. 

I  write  an  accompanying  letter  to  each  of  my  agents.     You  will 

have  to  settle  with  them  by  their  own  accounts,  as  my  trade-book  was 

lost,  as  you  know.     The  balance,  after  paying  for  your  own  passage 

and  expense,  you  can  hand  over  to  my  agent  at  Samoa.  —  Wishing 

you  a  safe  arrival  there  and  every  success,  I  remain,  yours  in  good 

faith, 

(Signed)  W.  H.  Hayston. 


"MY   LORDS    OF   THE   ADMIRALTY"  205 

Circular. 

Downing  Street,  Slst  May  1875. 

Sir,  —  With  reference  to  my  circular  despatch  of  13th  instant,  I 
have  the  honour  to  transmit  to  you  the  accompanying  copy  of  a  note 
addressed  by  the  Due  de  Decazes  to  Her  Majesty's  Minister  at  Paris, 
in  consequence  of  the  communication  on  the  subject  of  the  lawless 
proceedings  of  W.  H.  Hayston  in  the  South  Seas,  which  the  Earl  of 
Derby  caused  to  be  made  to  the  French  Government,  also  those  of 
Germany  and  the  United  States.  —  I  am,  etc.,  Carnarvon. 

The  Officer  Administering 
the  Government  of  Queensland. 

The  Due  de  Decazes  to  Mr.  Adams. 

(Copy.) 

Paris,  le  10  mai  1875. 

M.  LE  MiNisTRE, — J'ai  porte'  a  la  connaissance  de  mon  collegue 
les  informations  que  vous  m'avez  fait  I'honneur  de  me  transmettre, 
relativement  a  un  personnage  dangereux,  du  nom  de  Hayston,  qui  se 
serait  signale'  par  de  nombreux  actes  de  depredation  dans  les  lies  de 
rOce'anie.  M.  I'Amiral  de  Montaigne  re'pondant  a  ma  communication 
m'annonce  qu'il  signalera  par  le  premier  courier  cet  individu  au 
Commandant  en  Chef  de  notre  division  navale  dans  1' Ocean  Pacifique. 
II  adressera  en  outre  a  M.  I'Amiral  Rebout  les  instructions  ne'ces- 
saires  pour  que  ce  filibustier  soit  surveille  de  pres  et  mis,  le  cas 
c'cheant,  hors  d'etat  de  poursuivre  son  Industrie  criminelle.  — Agre'ez, 
etc., 

(Signed)  Due  de  Decazes. 
M.  Adams. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

H.M.S.   ROSA.RIO 

As  we  pulled  up  alongside  we  saw  her  bulwarks  forward 
crowded  with  the  blue-jackets.  The  Captain's  quick  eye, 
which  nothing  escaped,  detected  among  them  the  bronzed 
faces  of  Dan  Gardiner  and  another  trader  whom  he  had 
left  at  Providence  Island. 

"She's  come  to  take  me,  sure  enough,"  he  said  to  me. 
"  The  moment  1  looked  at  those  two  fellows  they  dropped 
back  out  of  sight.  Never  mind,  come  aboard  and  I'll  see 
it  through." 

As  soon  as  we  gained  the  deck  he  advanced  towards  a 
group  of  officers  standing  on  the  quarter-deck,  and,  raising 
his  hat,  said,  "Good  morning,  gentlemen.  I  am  Captain 
Hayston  of  the  brig  Leonora,  cast  away  on  this  island  in 
the  earlier  part  of  the  year." 

There  was  a  moment's  silence;  then  a  tall  man,  the 
captain  of  the  cruiser,  stepped  out  from  the  others,  sur- 
veyed Hayston  from  head  to  foot,  and  said,  "Oh,  ah,  in- 
deed! then  you  are  the  very  man  I  am  looking  for.  This 
is  Her  Majesty's  ship  Rosario,  and  you  are  a  prisoner,  Mr. 
Hayston ! " 

Hayston  simply  bowed  and  said  nothing,  retiring  to  the 
port  side,  where  he  was  placed  under  the  charge  of  the 
sergeant-major  of  marines,  who,  as  also  all  others  on  board, 
looked  with  intense  curiosity  at  the  man  of  whose  doings 
they  had  heard  so  much  in  their  cruises  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

206 


H.M.S.    ROSARIO  207 

The  man-of-war  captain  then  demanded  my  name,  after 
which  I  was  considerably  staggered  by  the  announcement 
that  he  had  instructions  to  apprehend  me  on  the  charge  of 
stealing  the  ketch  E.  A.  Wilson,  the  property  of  Messrs. 
Miller  and  Warne  of  Samoa. 

Hayston  at  once  came  forward,  and,  addressing  the  cap- 
tain, said  that  1  had  simply  brought  that  vessel  to  him  at 
Mill6,  and  could  produce  written  instructions  from  the 
owners  to  hand  the  vessel  over  to  him.  To  this  no  answer 
was  returned,  and  silence  was  maintained,  for  the  Rosario 
Avas  now  entering  the  passage,  and  so  interested  was  I  at 
the  novel  surroundings  of  a  man-of-war  under  steam,  and 
so  lost  in  admiration  of  the  perfect  discipline  on  board, 
that  for  the  time  being  I  forgot  that  the  Captain  of  the 
Leonora  Avas  a  prisoner,  and  that  I  was  also  apprehended 
on  a  serious  charge. 

Slowly  and  gracefully  the  great  ship  steamed  through  the 
passage,  and  brought  up  within  a  cable's  length  of  the 
king's  wharf,  where  the  anchor  plunged  below  to  its 
resting-place  on  the  coral  bottom.  No  sooner  had  the 
man-of-war  come  to  anchor  than  Mr.  Morland  and  the 
native  missionary,  who  followed  him  like  a  shadow,  came 
on  board,  and  were  received  by  Her  Majesty's  representa- 
tive. A  consultation  took  place,  after  which  I  Avas  sepa- 
rated from  my  companion,  and,  without  being  able  to 
exchange  a  word  of  farewell,  was  hurried  down  to  the  gun- 
room. As  I  placed  my  foot  on  the  ladder  leading  to  the 
*'  'tween  decks  "  I  turned.  He  waved  his  hand  to  me  in 
farewell.      We  never  met  again! 

While  I  Avas  detained  in  the  gun-room  a  midshipman 
told  me  that  Captain  Hayston  had  been  permitted  to  go  on 
shore,  under  the  charge  of  an  officer,  to  collect  his  personal 
effects  and  Avrite  letters,  as  he  had  been  informed  that  I 
would  not  be  permitted  to  have  any  further  communication 
with  him. 


208  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

The  midshipman  said  that  Mr.  Morland  had  seemed  sur- 
prised at  Captain  Hayston's  not  being  put  in  irons,  and 
was  at  that  moment  collecting  evidence  in  order  to  formu- 
late a  series  of  charges  against  him  before  the  captain  of 
the  Rosario.  My  informant  added,  "If  Captain  Hayston 
is  such  a  blood-thirsty  ruffian  as  he  is  described  to  be  he 
certainly  shows  no  indication  of  it." 

Several  of  the  warrant  officers  now  gathered  around  and 
pressed  me  with  questions  concerning  Hayston.  One  of 
them  jocularly  inquired  where  the  Captain's  harem  was 
located,  adding  that  it  was  a  pity  to  separate  him  from 
them,  and  that  there  was  plenty  of  room  on  board  the 
Rosario  for  ladies. 

I  was  burning  with  anxiety  to  know  on  what  particular 
charge  Hayston  had  been  arrested,  and  how  the  captain  of 
the  Rosario  had  heard  of  the  loss  of  the  Leonora.  They 
told  me  then  that  the  Rosario  had  been  searching  for  Hay- 
ston for  some  time,  under  instructions  from  the  Commodore 
of  the  Australian  Station,  to  whom  representations  had 
been  made  concerning  alleged  depredations  committed  by 
him  (Hayston)  in  the  Line  Islands.  The  Rosario  had 
visited  a  number  of  islands,  and  endeavoured  to  obtain 
evidence  against  Hayston,  but  that  it  had  resulted  in  a  fail- 
ure, nearly  every  one,  when  it  came  to  the  point,  declining 
to  make  any  statement  against  him.  The  captain  of  the 
man-of-war  then  decided  to  proceed  to  Arrecifos,  or  Provi- 
dence Island,  which  he  knew  to  be  one  of  Hayston's  depots. 
On  arrival  he  learned  from  the  two  white  men  there  that 
so  long  an  interval  had  passed  since  his  last  visit  that  they 
fancied  that  the  Leonora  had  been  lost. 

These  two  men  were  taken  on  board,  and  the  Rosario 
made  for  Strong's  Island.  When  within  400  miles  she  met 
the  little  Matautu,  who  signalled  a  wish  to  speak.  As  soon 
as  Captain  Warner  boarded  the  man-of-war  he  informed 
the  commander  of  the  loss  of  the  Leonora,  and  of  Hayston's 


H.M.S.   KOSAUIO  209 

presence  on  the  island.  He  also  handed  in  several  written 
charges  made  by  himself  against  Hayston,  and,  as  well  as 
I  can  remember  from  what  I  was  told,  was  about  to  return 
to  his  schooner  when  the  Morning  Star  hove  in  sight. 

On  board  of  the  missionary  brig  was  Mr.  Morland,  and  a 
consultation  then  took  place  between  the  two  captains  and 
this  gentleman,  who  was,  of  course,  delighted  to  hear  of 
the  loss  of  the  Leonora,  and  that  Captain  Hayston  was  to 
be  taken  prisoner. 

The  Matautu  then  bore  away  on  her  course,  and  the 
Morning  Star,  after  landing  Mr.  Morland  at  the  weather 
side  of  the  island,  went  on  her  way,  leaving  him  ashore, 
perfectly  assured  of  his  own  safety  and  the  immediate 
presence  of  the  Hosario  in  Chabral  harbour. 

I  could  now  understand  the  hints  given  me  by  the  queen, 
as  well  as  the  expression  of  triumph  on  the  faces  of  the 
missionaries  as  they  returned  from  their  interview  with  the 
king. 

Presently  an  officer  came  down  and  asked  me  if  I  wished 
to  obtain  my  effects  from  the  shore.  I  at  once  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Kusis  to  bring  me  a  small  chest,  in  which  were  my 
worldly  goods,  as  well  as  my  power  of  attorney  and  letters 
of  instructions  from  former  employers  in  Samoa.  I  was 
going  to  make  inquiries  about  Hayston,  when  the  officer 
requested  me  kindly  enough  not  to  ask  him  questions,  as  he 
could  give  me  no  information.  He  told  me,  however,  that 
the  captain  of  the  Rosario  was  at  that  moment  engaged  in 
hearing  charges  against  Hayston  made  by  the  king,  Mr. 
Morland,  and  two  or  three  of  the  traders  from  Pleasant 
Island.  Also  that  some  of  the  crew  of  the  Leonora  had 
been  induced  to  come  forward  and  make  statements.  I  also 
learned  that  Hayston  had  been  taken  to  South  harbour  in 
charge  of  an  officer,  for  what  purpose  I  could  never  learn, 
unless  it  was  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  escaping,  as  he 
could  easily  have  written  his  letters  in  the  king's  house. 


2l0  A   MODERN   BtrCCANfiER 

Two  of  the  boats'  crews  were  piped  away,  and  I  was  told 
by  an  old  quarter-master,  with  a  humorous  grin,  that  some 
of  the  officers  had  gone  away  in  the  boats  to  South  harbour 
to  have  a  look  at  the  "pirate's  village,  and  bring  away  tlie 
unfortunate  female  captives."  All  this  time  I  was  kept  in 
close  confinement,  and  the  time  passed  wearily  away.  I 
was  growing  tired  of  the  ceaseless  questions  from  every  one 
that  came  near  me  about  Hayston,  the  Leonora,  and  our 
voyage  from  the  Carolines  till  the  brig  was  cast  away. 

At  night,  however,  the  boats  returned,  and  after  the  crews 
had  been  piped  down  to  supper  the  good  old  sergeant-major 
of  marines,  suspecting  the  anxiety  I  was  in  as  to  Hayston's 
movements,  startled  me  by  telling  me  that  he  had  escaped 
from  custody  when  at  South  Island  harbour. 

He  told  me  that  as  soon  as  the  boat  reached  the  village 
they  found  the  place  in  a  state  of  wildest  confusion.  A 
messenger  had  come  down  along  the  coast  and  told  the 
Captain's  people  that  a  man-of-war  was  at  Lel^,  and  that 
Captain  Hayston  had  been  taken  prisoner,  put  in  irons,  and 
was  to  be  shot  or  hanged  at  once.  A  number  of  Strong's 
Island  natives  followed  the  man-of-war  boats  down  from 
Chabral  harbour,  and  these  at  once  attempted  to  rush  and 
ransack  the  station,  which  they  were  only  prevented  from 
doing  by  the  presence  of  the  blue -jackets. 

Hayston  was  escorted  to  his  station,  where  he  was  at  once 
surrounded  by  the  girls  belonging  to  the  house  and  many 
others,  among  them  being  the  carpenter's,  steward's,  boat- 
swain's, and  Antonio's  wives  —  all  clinging  to  him  and 
impeding  his  movements. 

Calling  them  all  together,  with  such  others  of  the  natives 
as  had  not  fled  from  the  village  at  the  sight  of  the  blue- 
jackets, he  told  them  that  they  need  not  be  under  any  alarm, 
that  he  was  going  away  in  the  man-of-war,  and  might  not 
return  for  a  long  time  —  perhaps  many  moons,  but  that  the 
supercargo,  Hilary  Telfer,   Avould   be  with   them  shortly. 


H.M.S.   KOSAKIO  211 

and  they  must  be  guided  by  him.  Of  course  the  Captain 
never  for  a  miuute  imagined  that  I  was  then  under  the 
closest  surveillance,  and  therefore  would  be  utterly  power- 
less to  carry  out  his  promises  made  to  them. 

He  then  quietly  seated  himself,  and  wrote  a  quantity  of 
letters  to  his  agents  in  the  different  islands  in  the  Line  and 
Marshall  groups.  These  letters  he  directed  and  enclosed 
to  me,  together  with  a  power  of  attorney  which  he  had 
previously  drawn  up,  and  a  letter  of  instructions  —  all  of 
which  he  laid  on  the  table. 

He  then  told  his  captors  that  he  was  ready  to  return  with 
them,  when  (according  to  the  statement  made  by  the  marines 
on  their  return  to  Lel^)  he  suddenly  exerted  his  vast 
strength,  and  knocking  several  of  them  down,  sprang  into 
the  sea  and  gained  the  mangroves  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  harbour. 

On  my  inquiring  from  the  marine  officer  why  he  had  not 
been  pursued,  that  gentleman  winked  at  me,  and  replied, 
"No  orders,  my  boy,  no  orders;  besides  he  swam  like  a 
beaver,  and  to  search  the  mangroves  for  one  man  would  take 
a  month  of  Sundays."  Thinking  the  matter  over,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  for  some  reason  I  could  not  fathom, 
the  captain  of  the  man-of-war  was  not  particularly  anxious 
to  keep  Hayston  a  prisoner,  though  I  had  heard  him  declare 
to  Mr.  Morland  that  the  naval  authorities  would  at  last  rid 
the  Pacific  of  this  man,  who  was  a  source  of  terror  and 
dread  from  New  Zealand  to  the  China  Seas. 

When  the  boats  returned  from  Utwe  they  brought  up  the 
man  Jansen,  whom  Hayston  had  beaten  and  disgraced.  He 
called  himself,  and  was  recognised  by  the  captain  of  the 
Rosario  as  the  chief  officer  of  the  Leonora,  although  he  had 
long  since  lost  his  position  on  account  of  his  rascally  con- 
duct. He  seemed  brimful  of  evidence  as  to  Hayston's 
misdeeds,  and  I  was  afterwards  informed  that  when  brought 
into  the  ward-room  of  the  man-of-war  the  ofiicers  expected 


212  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

to  have  some  thrilling  stories  of  rapine  and  bloodshed. 
However,  they  were  disappointed,  as  his  evidence  was  little 
more  than  confirmatory  of  that  of  Captain  Warner  of  the 
Matantu,  in  reference  to  the  taking  of  some  gear  from  the 
brig  Kamehameha  the  Fourth. 

Mr.  Morland  and  Likiak  Sa  appeared  to  be  the  leading 
spirits  in  obtaining  charges  against  the  absent  Hayston, 
for  the  commander  of  the  man-of-war  was  strictly  neutral, 
and  certainly  not  furiously  indignant  at  his  escape.  They 
succeeded  in  obtaining  his  approval  of  the  appointment  of 
Jansen  to  take  charge  of  the  people  and  the  station,  under 
the  supervision  of  King  Tokusar,  at  Utw6.  It  was  at  this 
juncture  that  the  letters  written  by  Hayston  to  his  agents,  as 
well  as  the  power  of  attorney  and  letters  of  instruction  to 
me,  were  produced  by  Mr.  Morland.  How  they  came  to  be 
in  that  gentleman's  hands  I  do  not  know.  A  rough  draft 
was  made  by  him  for  the  king's  perusal,  he  said,  and  the 
originals  were  then  brought  to  me  by  one  of  the  lieutenants, 
who  also  handed  me  a  bundle  of  papers  which  he  said  had 
been  brought  on  board  by  a  native. 

These  papers  were  my  power  of  attorney,  to  hand  over 
the  ketch  E.  A.  Wilson  to  Captain  Hayston,  and  also  a  letter 
of  instructions  in  reference  to  the  crew  —  copies  of  which 
the  reader  has  already  seen.  Feeling  confident  that  I  had 
but  to  show  these  documents  to  Commander  Dupont  to 
insure  an  interview  and  my  instant  release,  I  requested  to 
be  ushered  into  the  autocrat's  presence.  The  Reverend 
Mr.  Morland  was  present,  and  greeted  me  with  such  a  smile 
of  active  benevolence  that  I  longed  to  kick  him. 

When  I  presented  the  letter  to  Captain  Dupont  I  was 
considerably  surprised  when  he  denounced  them  as  forger- 
ies, calling  me  at  the  same  time  a  d — d  piratical  scoun- 
drel and  accomplished  young  villain,  adding  that  my  cruel 
behaviour  in  aiding  and  abetting  Hayston  in  his  villainies 
made  him  regret  that  he  could  not  run  me  up  to  the  yard- 


H.M.S.   ROSAKIO  213 

arm  as  a  warning.  He  finished  this  tirade  by  tearing  up 
my  papers  and  throwing  them  at  me.  Calling  the  sergeant 
of  marines,  he  ordered  me  put  in  irons,  from  which,  how- 
ever, I  was  released  before  the  Eosario  put  to  sea. 

Early  next  morning,  much  to  my  relief,  there  appeared 
on  board  the  black  shining  face  of  Johnny  Tilton,  the  young 
negro,  who  among  others  of  the  crew  had  been  brought  away 
from  Utw6,  in  one  of  the  man-of-war  boats.  Johnny,  with 
his  shipmates,  was  taken  below  and  examined  by  the  cap- 
tain and  Mr.  Morland.  But  as  there  was  nothing  against 
him  personally  or  the  Fijian  half-caste  Bill,  they  were 
permitted  to  return  ashore.  Before  leaving,  Johnny  re- 
quested to  be  allowed  to  see  me,  which  was  granted. 

The  moment  I  saw  his  face  I  knew  he  had  something  of 
importance  to  tell  me,  for  looking  at  the  marine  standing 
sentry  over  me,  he  said  in  Samoan,  "  Le  —  alu  ua  sola  i 
te  po"  (the  Captain  escaped  in  the  night). 

"Yes!  "  I  replied,  "I  know  that  already." 

"  Ah !  but  I  mean  that  he  has  taken  the  small  boat  and 
gone  away  altogether.  Listen,  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it. 
After  the  man-of-war  boats  had  gone  away  from  Utwe,  and 
the  Captain  had  escaped  into  the  mangroves,  a  number  of 
the  Strong's  islanders  came  down  and  said  they  were  going 
to  loot  the  place.  Then  the  king  sent  down  word  that  the 
captain  of  the  man-of-war  had  declared  that  the  station  now 
belonged  to  him  (the  king),  and  that  he  could  do  Avhat  he 
liked  with  the  place.  The  king  forbade  any  of  the  people 
to  go  into  the  Captain's  house  till  Jansen  came  down  with 
Likiak  Sa,  as  these  two  had  been  appointed  by  the  king  and 
Mr.  Morland  to  take  charge.  Well,  there  was  a  lot  of  us 
ran  away  into  the  mountains  at  the  very  first  when  we 
heard  the  Captain  was  taken  prisoner.  Bill  Hicks  and  I 
were  among  them,  also  boy  George  and  Sunday.  Before  we 
left  I  went  to  the  Captain's  house  and  told  the  girls  that 
we  were  running  away,  and  our  wives  were  coming  with  us, 


214  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

and  asked  them  what  they  intended  to  do.  Old  Mary  said 
she  would  wait  and  see  first  if  it  were  true  about  the  Captain 
being  taken  prisoner. 

"  All  the  young  women,  too,  though  they  were  very  fright- 
ened, said  they  would  stay.  I  got  Hope  Island  Nellie  to  give 
me  three  Winchester  rifles  and  a  bag  of  cartridges  from  the 
back  of  the  big  house.  I  cut  a  hole  through  the  side  of  the 
Captain's  sleeping-place,  and  Nellie  passed  the  rifles  out  to 
me  quietly.  I  told  Xellie  that  we  were  going  to  hide  in  the 
mountains  till  we  saw  whether  the  man-of-war  wanted  to 
catch  us  as  well  as  the  Captain.  If  not  we  would  return  to 
Utwe. 

"  I  took  the  rifles  and  wrapped  them  up  in  a  long  mat, 
and  went  down  to  the  lagoon,  where  I  found  a  canoe  and 
took  it.  Bill  and  the  others  were  waiting  for  me ;  they  told 
me  that  the  man-of-war  boats  were  coming  into  the  harbour, 
and  that  the  Captain  was  in  one  of  them ;  we  watched  them 
carefully  and  saw  them  go  out  of  the  harbour.  Then  Bill 
began  to  talk  against  the  Captain,  and  said  he  would  be 
glad  if  he  were  shot.  He  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to 
make  a  dash  into  the  village  and  help  him  to  bring  away 
Nellie  and  Sara,  as  if  the  Captain  was  taken  away  in  the 
man-of-war  he  was  going  to  have  them  for  himself. 

"  I  told  him  that  until  Captain  Hayston  was  taken  away 
or  dead  that  I  intended  to  stick  to  him.  So  we  nearly  had 
a  fight  over  it.  Then  Bill  said  all  of  a  sudden  that  he 
intended  to  have  Sara  and  Nellie,  right  or  wrong.  And  as 
he  had  nothing  to  fear  from  the  man-of-war,  he  would  try 
if  he  couldn't  fool  the  captain,  and  pretend  he  could  tell 
him  all  about  Captain  Hayston  robbing  Captain  Daly's 
station  on  the  Line  Islands. 

"  I  told  him  I  was  not  going  to  turn  dog  on  the  Captain, 
and  he  might  do  his  dirty  work  himself. 

"  So  off  he  went,  and  we  saw  him  cross  over  in  a  canoe  to 
young  Harry's  place,  and  knew  he  was  going  along  the  beach 


H.M.S.    KOSARIO  215 

to  Chabral  harbour.  Then  I  talked  to  the  others,  and  asked 
them  what  we  ought  to  do,  for  I  was  afraid  we  would  not 
see  the  Captain  any  more.  Boy  George  laughed,  and  said 
he  didn't  care,  but  he  meant  to  be  beforehand  with  Bill  and 
run  off  with  Sara;  that  if  I  had  any  sense  I  would  run  off 
with  jSTellie,  and  let  the  other  girls  go  adrift.  He  said  we 
could  easily  live  in  the  mountains  till  the  man-of-war  was 
gone,  and  then  go  back  to  Utw6.  But  I  said  I  wouldn't  do 
that,  and  that  they  would  find  that  Sara  would  fight  like  a 
wild  cat  if  boy  George  or  any  one  else  tried  to  take  her 
away. 

"  Boy  George  then  said  if  she  wouldn't  come  he  would 
put  a  bullet  through  her,  and  take  Mila  or  Nellie  instead. 
So  then  we  had  a  row ;  he  called  me  a  black  thief  and  said 
I  could  go  to  h — 1.  He  and  the  others  cleared  out  and  left 
me  alone. 

"  It  was  then  very  dark,  and  as  everything  seemed  quiet, 
I  walked  across  the  coral  and  got  into  the  house  on  the  point 
where  some  Strong's  Island  people  live,  the  one  you  were 
brought  to  when  you  were  washed  ashore.  The  man  and 
his  wife  Nadup  were  frightened  at  first ;  but  they  were  good 
to  me,  and  gave  me  food,  and  then  they  told  me  Jansen  was 
in  charge  of  the  station;  that  the  Pleasant  islanders  were 
fled  into  the  bush,  and  that  the  girls  in  the  big  house  had 
run  away  when  they  saw  him  coming  to  them,  drunk,  with  a 
loaded  rifle  in  his  hand. 

"  Only  Nellie  and  little  Kitty  and  Toby  stayed  behind. 
Nellie  had  a  Winchester  rifle  and  pointed  it  at  Jansen,  who 
was  afraid  to  come  into  the  house.  Then  she,  Kitty,  and 
the  little  boy  collected  as  many  of  the  Captain's  things  as 
they  could  carry,  and  taking  a  canoe,  put  out  to  sea,  intend- 
ing to  paddle  round  to  Mout,  where  they  thought  they 
would  find  you,  who  would  tell  them  all  about  the  Captain, 
and  whether  he  was  killed  or  not. 

"  But,  after  they  had  gone  four  or  five  miles,  the  outrigger 


216  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

came  off  and  the  canoe  capsized.  They  swam  ashore  and 
then  walked  back  to  Utw6,  where  they  were  told  by  some 
natives  that  you  were  also  a  prisoner  on  board  the  man- 
of-war.  And  the  last  that  had  been  seen  of  Nellie,  Kitty, 
and  the  boy,  was  that  they  started  to  walk  to  Chabral  har- 
bour to  try  and  see  the  captain  of  the  man-of-war,  as  they 
Avere  afraid  that  Jansen  would  kill  them. 

"Well,"  continued  Black  Johnny,  "when  I  heard  that 
you  were  also  a  prisoner  I  thought  I  would  run  away  into 
the  bush  again,  as  I  knew  Jansen  would  put  a  bullet  into 
me  whenever  he  saw  me  if  I  did  not  get  first  shot.  Just  as 
I  was  thinking  very  hard  what  I  should  do,  I  heard  some 
one  walking  on  the  broken  coral  outside  the  house.  I  knew 
the  footstep ;  it  was  the  Captain !  I  crept  outside,  and  saw 
him  standing  up  leaning  against  a  stone  wall.  He  had  two 
pistols  in  his  sash  and  a  Winchester  rifle  in  his  hand.  He 
seemed  to  be  considering.  I  whistled  softly,  and  then 
spoke.  He  shook  hands  with  me,  and  then  raised  his  rifle 
and  pointed  it  at  the  head  of  the  Strong's  islander,  who, 
with  his  wife  Nadup,  had  followed  me.  They  ran  outside 
and  threw  themselves  on  the  ground,  and  grovelled  in  the 
way  they  do  to  old  Tokusar,  and  swore  they  would  not  tell 
that  the  Captain  had  come  back. 

"  We  then  had  a  hasty  talk,  and  I  told  him  about  you 
being  a  prisoner.  But  he  said  you  would  soon  be  set  free 
again  and  would  return  to  Utwe,  and  I  must  stick  to  you 
and  help  to  keep  order ;  that  after  the  man-of-war  had  gone 
he  Avould  come  back  again.  When  I  told  him  that  the 
station  was  broken  up,  and  that  Jansen  was  in  charge  of 
thirty  Strong's  islanders,  and  that  the  girls  had  run  away, 
he  said  it  was  a  bad  case,  and,  picking  up  his  rifle,  he  asked 
rae  where  Jansen  was  sleeping.  I  saw  what  he  meant  to 
do,  and  begged  him  to  let  things  be  as  they  were,  and  not 
kill  Jansen  while  the  man-of-war  was  here. 

"  So  he  thought  awhile,  and  then  said  if  he  could  find  a 


H.M.S.    ROSARIO  217 

boat  he  would  get  away,  as  he  didn't  think  the  man-of-war 
would  follow  him.  By  and  by  he  would  come  back  again, 
when  he  hoped  to  find  you  and  me  here  all  safe. 

"  The  Strong's  Island  women  then  told  us  that  the  dingey 
had  been  brought  down  from  Chabral  harbour  by  Jansen, 
and  was  then  lying  outside  the  coral  at  anchor.  'She'll 
do,'  said  the  Captain;  'lend  me  a  hand,  and  we'll  bring 
her  ashore.'  But  I  made  him  lie  quiet  while  I  went  for 
her;  and  I  can  tell  you  I  was  in  a  terrible  funk  all  the 
time  about  sharks  as  soon  as  I  began  to  swim  out.  Any- 
way I  brought  her  in  all  right;  and  then  the  man  and  his 
wife  brought  a  lot  of  cocoa-nuts  and  cooked  food,  and  put 
it  into  the  boat.  I  gave  the  Captain  all  the  cartridges  I 
had.  He  told  me  that  he  got  the  pistols  from  the  place  in 
the  bush  that  you  know  of,  and  the  rifle  from  young  Harry, 
and  that  everything  else  there  was  all  right." 

By  this  I  knew  that  Hayston  had  visited  a  place  in  the 
bush  where  he  had  secreted  his  bags  of  money,  besides 
firearms  and  ammunition. 

Going  on  with  his  talk  the  young  negro  said,  "When 
everything  was  ready  the  Captain  told  me  he  meant  to  sail 
round  the  lee  side  of  the  island,  and  hide  the  boat  in  the 
mangroves  till  the  man-of-war  had  gone,  and  then  he  would 
return  and  wipe  out  Jansen  and  the  traders. 

"  He  told  me,  though  (for  he  felt  sure  of  your  being  set 
free  again),  that  if  it  so  happened  that  he  did  not  return 
in  ten  days  you  would  know  that  he  had  cleared  out  towards 
the  north-west,  and  would  try  to  reach  the  Pelew  Islands. 
He  said  if  he  reached  there  he  would  soon  get  a  vessel,  as 
there  were  always  plenty  of  small  Spanish  schooners  about 
those  islands,  and  he  could  easily  put  his  hand  on  one  or 
two  people  in  the  Pelews  who  would  help  him  to  take  one. 
I  asked  him  what  we  should  do  if,  when  we  came  back  to 
Utwe,  you  found  that  Jansen  was  too  strong  for  us?  He 
said  we  should  make  no  attempt  to  take  forcible  possession. 


218  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

but  go  and  live  with  your  people  at  Mout.  That  as  soon 
as  the  girls  knew  where  we  were  they  would  be  certain  to 
come  to  us  with  little  Kitty  and  Toby.  That  we  must  wait 
till  he  returned,  as  he  would  never  desert  us. 

"Then,"  said  Johnny,  whose  glistening  eyes  showed  how 
deeply  attached  he  was  to  his  Captain,  "the  poor  fellow! 
he  shook  hands  with  me,  and  said  I  was  made  of  the  right 
stuff,  and  that  the  Almighty  made  a  mistake  when  he  gave 
me  a  black  skin.  Then,  telling  me  to  keep  a  stout  heart, 
he  got  in  and  hoisted  the  sail.  It  was  very  dark,  but  there 
was  a  good  land-breeze,  and  he  sailed  the  dingey  right 
along  the  edge  of  the  reef  till  he  came  to  the  passage,  and 
disappeared  in  the  darkness.  I  ran  across  the  strip  of  land 
on  the  sea-side  of  the  lagoon  and  waited  till  I  saw  him 
pass. 

"  In  about  half-an-hour  I  saw  the  little  boat  sailing  along 
close  into  the  shore,  just  outside  of  the  breakers,  rising  and 
falling  like  a  sea-gull  on  the  top  of  the  heavy  seas.  I  could 
see  the  Captain's  figure  in  the  stern,  and  every  moment 
expected  to  see  her  lifted  high  up  on  a  roller  and  dashed 
on  the  reef.  But  though  I  shouted  to  him  to  keep  farther 
out,  the  white  figure  in  the  stern  never  moved,  and  my 
voice  was  lost  in  the  roaring  of  the  surf. 

"  Then,  as  I  saw  him  still  keeping  steady  to  the  south- 
ward, just  clear  of  the  last  sweep  of  the  seas  before  they 
curled  and  broke  on  the  reef,  I  remembered  that  only  a  few 
cables'  lengths  from  the  breakers  there  was  always  a  strong 
current  setting  to  the  north,  and  that  with  a  light  breeze  the 
boat  would  never  stem  it.  That  was  why  he  hugged  the 
shore  so  closely.  At  last,  as  I  kept  running  through 
the  undergrowth  following  the  boat,  I  came  to  that  place 
where  there  is  a  thick  cane  scrub.  When  I  got  through  it 
he  was  nearly  out  of  sight,  and  I  sat  on  a  boulder  and 
watched  the  sail  gradually  covered  up  by  the  night." 

Such,  in  effect,  was  the  young  negro's  story.     I  could 


H.M.S.   ROSARIO  219 

not  help  being  affected  by  his  evident  sorrow,  and  told 
him  that  I  feared  there  was  no  chance  of  me  at  least  ever 
seeing  the  Captain  again.  Then,  when  the  time  came  to 
part,  I  sliook  his  hand  warmly,  and  advised  him  to  sever 
his  connection  Avith  tlie  Leonora's  crew;  also  to  go  and  see 
the  king,  who  would  not,  at  any  rate,  object  to  his  re- 
maining on  the  island  to  follow  out  the  Captain's  wishes  as 
far  as  lay  in  his  power. 

Soon  after  Black  Johnny  had  bid  me  good-bye  young 
Harry  came  to  say  farewell,  and  with  him  Kusis  and  his 
family,  and  Lalia. 

Harry  told  me  that  he  saw  the  Captain  after  his  escape, 
and  urged  him  not  to  think  of  returning  to  Utwe  just  then, 
as  Jansen  had  a  strong  force  of  natives  with  him,  and 
would  certainly  try  to  take  or  shoot  him.  But  he  was 
determined  to  find  out  how  matters  stood,  and  bidding 
Harry  good-bye,  set  out  across  the  mangrove  swamp  that 
lined  the  shore  from  Harry's  station  to  the  village  at  Utwe. 
He  gave  him  the  Winchester  and  cartridges,  and  the  Cap- 
tain assured  him  that  he  would  not  fire  a  shot  except  in 
self-defence. 

I  told  Harry  what  I  had  learned  from  the  young  negro 
about  the  Captain's  final  movements,  and  that  I  was  being 
taken  away  as  a  prisoner.  He  seemed  very  bitter  against 
the  other  traders,  whom  he  spoke  of  as  trembling  like 
whipped  hounds  before  the  Captain's  frown  when  he  was 
free,  and  who  now,  when  he  was  a  ruined  and  broken  man, 
were  loud  in  their  threats  and  vaj^ourings. 

He.  also  told  me  that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  the 
king  and  Mr.  Morland,  commanding  him  to  deliver  up  to 
Jansen  all  oil,  casks,  boats,  and  other  property  in  his  pos- 
session belonging  to  Captain  Hayston,  and  threatening  him 
with  deportation  from  the  island  if  he  refused.  To  this  he 
sent  "a  written  reply  to  the  effect,  that  unless  the  king  and 
Mr,  Morland  could  back  up  their  demand  by  a  boat's  crew 


220  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

from  the  man-of-war,  he  would  shoot  the  first  man  who 
stepped  inside  his  fence. 

They  then  appealed  to  Commander  Dupont,  who  told 
them  that  as  yonng  Harry  was  an  American  citizen,  he 
could  not  force  him  to  give  up  the  property,  but  advised 
the  king  and  Mr.  Morland  to  take  the  law  into  their  own 
hands. 

Young  Harry  then  armed  his  wives  and  native  servants 
with  rifles,  and  telling  them  to  make  short  work  of  any  one 
attempting  to  seize  Captain  Hayston's  property,  set  out  for 
Chabral  harbour  to  interview  the  king.  He  told  me  that 
when  he  reached  the  king's  house  he  found  there  the  other 
traders,  Mr.  Morland,  and  the  commander  of  the  man-of- 
war.  On  the  latter  gentleman  inquiring  who  he  was,  and 
what  he  wanted,  Harry  answered  him  very  concisely  by 
furnishing  his  name  and  nationality.  He  then  stated  that 
he  had  not  come  to  see  him  (Commander  Dupont),  but  the 
king,  of  whom  he  wished  to  ask  by  what  right  he  dared  to 
send  him  a  letter  threatening  him  with  deportation  from 
the  island  unless  he  consented  to  give  up  Captain  Hay- 
ston's property.  He  warned  him  to  be  careful  how  he  in- 
terfered with  an  American  citizen,  as  there  was  an  Ameri- 
can cruiser  now  in  the  Caroline  Islands.  He  (the  king) 
would  find  he  had  made  a  serious  mistake  if  he  committed 
any  outrage  upon  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

"You  should  have  seen  the  look  in  the  British  officer's 
face,"  said  Harry,  "when  I  stepped  up  to  the  old  king,  and 
nearly  touching  his  face  with  my  hand,  said,  'and  I  warn 
you,  king,  that  the  captain  of  an  American  cruiser  will 
listen  to  the  tale  and  redress  the  wrongs  of  the  honest 
American  citizen.  He  would  think  little  of  knocking  your 
town  about  your  ears.'  " 

The  old  king  never  spoke,  but  glanced  first  towards  the 
British  officer  and  then  to  the  missionary,  but  as  neither 
of  them  offered  suggestions,  the  poor  old  fellow  could  only 


H.M.S.   ROSARIO  221 

mutter  something  to  the  effect  that  he  was  like  a  little  fish 
in  a  pool,  afraid  of  the  sea  because  of  the  bigger  fish,  and 
afraid  to  stay  lest  the  frigate  birds  should  seize  him. 
Young  Harry  quite  enjoyed  relating  the  scene  to  me,  and 
said  that  as  he  was  going  away  the  king  held  out  his  hand 
and  inquired  in  a  shaky  voice,  "I  say,  Harry,  what  you 
tink,  what  you  do?  Suppose  Captain  Hayston  come  back, 
what  become  of  King  Tokusar?  Oh!  by  God!  now  I  be 
'fraid  every  day;  think  I  hear  Captain  Hayston  speak  me; 
make  noise  like  bullock;  I  think  better  be  poor  native,  no 
more  king." 

Harry  refused  to  advise  the  king,  and  then  taking  a  good 
look  at  the  white  men  present,  said,  "Well,  good-bye, 
King  Tokusar !  I  am  going  back  to  my  station  —  the  sta- 
tion I  am  minding  for  Captain  Hayston.  I  have  six  men 
and  four  women  all  armed,  and  the  American  flag  on  a  pole 
in  front  of  ray  door;  and  the  first  man  that  attempts  to  do 
me  any  mischief,  white,  black,  or  yellow,  Vll  shoot  Jmn. 
You  can  ask  the  white  men  from  Pleasant  Island  if  I  am 
not  a  man  of  my  word.     They  know  me." 

Harry  then  got  into  his  boat  and  pulled  on  board  the 
man-of-war,  where  the  first  lieutenant  very  kindly  allowed 
him  to  see  me.  I  felt  sincere  regret  at  parting  with  Harry, 
telling  him  to  beware  of  the  other  traders.  I  repeated 
what  had  been  told  me  by  Kitty  of  Ebon  and  Lalia.  He 
laughed,  and  said  he  was  always  prepared,  and  meant  to 
do  justice  to  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  Captain  Hayston. 
"I'm  the  wrong  man,"  he  said  on  leaving,  "to  abandon  any 
station  and  property  left  in  my  charge."  Then,  with  oft- 
repeated  wishes  that  we  might  meet  again,  after  hearing  of 
the  Captain's  safety  we  parted. 

Then  came  again  good  simple  Kusis  and  his  people  with 
Lalia.  She  had  in  charge  little  Kitty  and  Toby.  Poor 
Toby  clung  to  my  legs  and  sobbed  as  if  his  heart  was 
breaking,  when  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  know  when  the 


222  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Captain  would  come  back  again.  If  no  one  else  loved  his 
master  Toby  did,  and  I  tried  in  vain  to  assuage  his  grief. 
I  was  glad  to  hear  from  Lalia  that  she  was  going  to  young 
Harry's  place  with  the  two  children.  There  I  knew  they 
would  be  well  treated  and  cared  for. 

"Look!"  said  she,  pointing  to  the  little  fellow,  "the 
Captain  had  two  good  friends  besides  yourself,  young 
Harry,  and  the  nigger  Johnny,  but  this  little  fellow  has 
never  ceased  crying  for  'Captin  '  since  he  left  the  village 
in  South  harbour.  Never  mind,  little  Toby,  we  will  wait 
and  the  'Captin'  will  be  sure  to  come;"  and  then  she 
stooped  down,  and  tried  by  kissing  and  coaxing  to  prevent 
him  from  giving  utterance  to  his  doleful  wails  and  sobs  of 
grief. 

Lalia  told  me,  as  with  glistening  eyes  and  trembling 
hands  we  said  farewell,  that  her  one  hope  now  was  to  be 
able  to  get  back  to  her  distant  home  on  Easter  Island,  that 
Captain  Hayston  would  return  with  a  ship;  and,  if  he 
went  towards  Samoa  or  Tahiti,  take  her  with  him  for  that 
portion  of  the  many  thousand  miles  that  lay  between 
Strong's  Island  and  her  native  land.  That  he  would  do 
this  she  felt  confident.  "For,"  she  said,  "he  once  told 
me  that  he  would  stand  by  me  if  I  was  in  trouble  —  it  was 
when  we  were  all  washed  ashore  together  —  you  remember? 
and  he  never  breaks  his  word.^' 

Whatever  Lalia's  past  life  had  been,  I  could  never  help 
admiring  her  many  noble  traits  of  character.  I  owed  her 
life-long  gratitude  for  her  heroic  self-sacrifice  on  the  fate- 
hx\  night  of  the  wreck  of  the  Leonora;  by  me,  at  least,  she 
will  never  be  forgotten.  Poor  Lalia !  Brave,  loving,  lovely 
child  of  the  charmed  isles  of  the  southern  main !  reckless 
alike  in  love  and  hate,  who  shall  judge?  who  condemn 
thee?     Not  I! 

Kusis,  Tulpe,  and  Kinie  clung  to  me  as  if  they  could  not 
bear  to  say  farewell.     I  see  before  me  often  the  honest, 


H.M.S.    ROSARIO  223 

kindly  countenance  of  Kusis  as,  with  ids  hand  clasped  in 
mine,  he  looked  trustfully  into  my  face  and  made  me  prom- 
ise that  some  day  I  would  return  and  live  with  him  once 
more.  And  so  freshly  at  that  time  came  the  remembrance 
of  the  happy  days  I  had  passed  in  his  quiet  home,  dream- 
ing the  hours  away  within  sight  of  the  heaving  bosom  of 
tlie  blue,  boundless  Pacific  Ocean,  so  deliciously  restful 
after  the  stormy  life  of  the  Leonora  and  her  wild  com- 
mander, that  I  believe  I  really  intended  to  return  to 
Strong's  Island  some  day ;  but,  as  we  used  to  say  at  Sydney 
college,  " Dts  aliter  visum." 

Queen  Se  sent  me  a  letter  as  follows :  — 

Dear  Friend,  —  Kitty  Ebon  send  Lalia  to  see  you.  We  all  very 
sorry,  but  must  not  say  so,  because  Mr.  Morland  very  strong  man 
now.  Where  you  think  Captain  Hayston  go  in  little  boat  ?  I  'fraid 
he  die  in  boat.  I  very  sorry  for  Captain  —  very  kind  man  —  but  bad 
man  to  natives  sometimes.  Queen  Sio. 

Enclosed  were  these  pencilled  lines  from  Kitty  of 
Ebon :  — 

Mt  dear  Friend,  —  All  the  people  from  Mout  been  to  Mr.  Mor- 
land to  ask  why  you  are  in  prison,  and  he  says  you  will  be  hmig  for 
stealing  a  ship.  We  all  very  sorry,  all  Moiit  people  love  you  very 
much  —  and  me  too.  Good-bye,  dear  friend,  come  back  to  Kusis  and 
Mout  people,  for  I  don't  think  you  be  hanged  in  Fiji.  —  Your  sincere 
friend,  Catherine  Ebon. 

But  when  the  light-hearted  blue-jackets  manned  the  cap- 
stan and  merrily  footed  it  round  to  lively  music,  and  the 
great  steamer's  head  was  pointed  to  the  passage,  my 
thoughts  were  far  away,  where  in  fancy  I  discerned  a  tiny 
boat  breasting  the  vast  ocean  swell,  while  sitting  aft  with 
his  face  turned  to  the  westward,  his  strong  brown  hand  on 
the  tiller,  was  the  once  dreaded  Captain  of  the  Leonora; 
the  lawless  rover  of  the  South  Seas ;  the  man  whose  name 
was  known  and  feared  from  the  South  Pole  to  Japan,  and 


224  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

yet  through  all,  my  true  friend  and  most  indulgent  com- 
mander. With  all  his  faults,  our  constant  association  had 
enabled  me  to  appreciate  his  many  noble  qualities  and  fine 
natural  impulses.  And  as  the  black  hull  of  the  Rosario 
rose  and  fell  to  the  sea,  her  funnel  the  while  pouring  forth 
volumes  of  sable  smoke,  the  island  gradually  sunk  astern, 
but  the  memories  connected  with  it  and  Captain  Hayston 
will  abide  with  me  for  ever, 

Harry  Skillings  I  never  saw  again,  but  heard  that  he 
went  to  Truk  in  the  North-west  Carolines.  Black  Johnny 
was  murdered  in  New  Britain.  The  other  Harry  with  his 
native  wife  fell  victims  to  the  treacherous  savages  of  the 
Solomon  Islands.  Jansen  died  a  few  years  since  on  Provi- 
dence Island.  Some  of  the  other  traders  and  members  of 
the  crew  I  have  heard  of  from  time  to  time,  scattered  far  and 
wide  over  the  Isles  of  the  Pacific.  Lillia  died  in  Honolulu 
about  five  years  since,  constant  in  her  attempts  to  reach 
her  distant  home  on  Easter  Island. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

NORFOLK    ISLAND ARCADIA 

And  now,  my  innocence  and  lack  of  complicity  in  Hay- 
ston's  irregularities  having  been  established,  a  revulsion  of 
feeling  took  place  in  the  minds  of  the  captain  and  officers 
of  the  Rosario  with  regard  to  me. 

After  the  fullest  explanations  furnished  by  the  traders 
and  others,  backed  up  by  the  manifest  sympathy  and  good- 
will of  the  inhabitants  of  Strong  Island,  it  became  apparent 
that  some  sort  of  reparation  was  due  to  me.  This  took  the 
form  of  a  courteous  invitation  to  accept  a  passage  to  Sydney 
in  H.M.S.  i?osa77o,  and  to  join  the  officers'  mess  on  the 
voyage.  "I'm  afraid  that  we  acted  hastily  in  your  case, 
Mr.  Telfer!  "  said  Captain  Dupont.  "You  have  been  thor- 
oughly cleared  of  all  accusations  made  against  you.  I  am 
bound  to  say  they  were  very  few.  And  you  seem  chiefly  to 
have  acted  as  a  peacemaker  and  a  power  for  good.  I  have 
gathered  that  you  are  anxious  to  rejoin  your  friends  in 
Sydney.  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  your  company  on  the 
return  voyage.  What  do  you  say?  I  trust  you  will  not 
refuse;  I  shall  otherwise  think  you  have  not  forgiven  my 
apparent  harshness." 

Thus  pressed  to  return  to  family  and  friends  —  from 
whom,  at  times,  in  spite  of  my  inborn  roving  propensities, 
the  separation  had  cost  me  dear  —  what  could  I  do  but  thank 
the  manly  and  courteous  potentate,  and  comply  with  an 
invitation  so  rarely  granted  to  a  South  Sea  adventurer.  I 
was  the  more  loth  to  lose  the  opportunity  as  there  had  come 

225  Q 


226  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

upon  me  of  late  a  violent  fit  of  homesickness  whicli  I  in 
vain  strove  to  combat. 

I  had  in  truth  now  no  particular  reason  for  remaining  at 
Kusaie,  or  indeed  anywhere  in  the  South  Seas.  Hayston 
was  gone;  his  magnetic  influence  no  longer  controlled  my 
will,  as  in  our  first  acquaintance.  The  Leonora  —  our 
pride  and  boast,  our  peerless  floating  home  —  no  longer 
"walked  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life,"  but  lay  dead,  dis- 
mantled, dishonoured  on  the  ruthless  coral  rocks  which  had 
crushed  the  life  out  of  her  on  that  fatal  night. 

I  realised  now  with  thankfulness  that  I  had  narrowly 
escaped  being  liable  as  an  accessory  for  some  of  Hayston's 
ultra-legal  proceedings — to  call  them  by  no  harsher  name. 

How  often,  indeed,  in  the  reckless  daring  of  boyhood  is 
the  fatal  line  crossed  which  severs  imprudence  from  crime ! 
The  inexorable  fiat  of  human  justice  knows  no  shade  of 
criminality.  "Guilty  or  not  guilty,"  goes  forth  the  ver- 
dict. There  is  no  appeal  on  earth.  And  the  faulty,  but 
not  all  evil-natured  victim,  is  doomed  to  live  out  all  the 
years  of  a  life  branded  as  a  felon,  or  maddened  by  the  fears 
which  must  ever  torture  the  fugitive  from  justice ! 

If  I  stayed  in  the  South  Seas  on  my  present  footing,  noth- 
ing remained  but  the  trader's  life,  pure  and  simple.  I  had 
little  doubt  but  that  I  could  make  a  living,  perhaps  a  compe- 
tence in  years  to  come.  But  that  meant  exile  in  every  sense  of 
the  word.  Complete  severance  from  my  kindred,  whom  my 
soul  yearned  to  see  again ;  from  the  friends  of  my  boyhood ; 
from  the  loved  and  lovely  land  of  my  birth ;  from  the  thou- 
sand and  one  luxuries,  material  and  intellectual,  which  are 
comprehended  in  the  word  civilisation.  I  had  slaked  my 
thirst  for  adventure,  danger,  and  mystery.  I  had  carried 
my  life  in  my  hand,  so  to  speak,  and  times  without  num- 
ber had  doubted  whether  I  should  retain  that  more  or  less 
valuable  possession  for  the  next  ten  minutes.  I  had  felt 
the  poisoned  arrows  at  Santa  Cruz  hurtling  around  me,  even 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  227 

hiss  through  my  waving  locks,  when  the  death-scratch 
summoned  a  man  on  either  hand.  I  had  nearly  been  "blue 
sharks'  meat "  as  Hayston  phrased  it,  on  coral  strand  amid 
"the  cruel  crawling  foam."  All  chances  and  risks  I  had 
taken  heedlessly  in  the  past.  But  now  I  began  to  feel  that 
I  must  pronounce  the  momentous  decision  which  would 
make  or  mar  ray  future  career.  The  island  life  was  very 
fair.  For  one  moment  I  saw  myself  the  owner  of  a  trad- 
ing station  on  Pingelap  or  Arurai.  I  am  sitting  in  a  large, 
cool  house,  on  soft,  parti-coloured  mats,  surrounded  by 
laughing  girls  garlanded  and  floAver-crowned.  Around  and 
above,  save  in  the  plantation  which  surrounds  the  house,  is 
the  soft  green  light  of  the  paradisal  woodland  illumining 
its  incredible  wealth  of  leafage,  fruit,  and  flowers.  Before 
me  lies  the  endless,  azure  sea-plain.  And  oh,  my  sea!  my 
own,  my  beloved  sea !  —  loved  in  childhood,  youth,  and  age, 
if  such  be  granted  to  me !  In  my  ears  are  the  magical  mur- 
murous surge-voices,  to  the  lulling  of  which  I  have  so  often 
slept  like  a  tired  child.     Fruit  and  flowers  —  love  and  war 

—  manly  effort  —  danger  — high  health  —  boundless  liberty, 

—  all  things  necessary  to  the  happiness  of  primeval  man, 
before  he  became  sophisticated  by  the  false  wisdom  of  these 
later  ages,  should  I  not  possess  in  profusion?  Why,  then, 
should  I  not  remain  in  this  land  of  changeless  summer  — 
this  magic  treasure-house  of  all  delights  of  land  and  sea? 


Long  and  anxiously  did  I  ponder  over  my  decision. 
Those  only  who  have  known  the  witchery  of  the  "  summer 
Isles  of  Eden,"  have  felt  the  charm  of  the  dream -life  of 
the  Southern  Main — the  sorcery  of  that  lotus-eating  exis- 
tence, alternating  with  the  fierce  hazards  and  stormy  de- 
lights which  give  a  richness  to  life  unknown  to  a  guarded, 
narrowed  civilisation  —  can  gauge  my  irresolution. 

I  had  well-nigh  resolved  to  adhere  to  the  trader's  life  — 


228  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

until  I  had  made  a  fortune  with  which  I  could  return  in 
triumph  —  when  I  thouglit  of  my  mother!  The  old  house, 
with  its  broad,  stone-paved  verandah  came  back  to  me  — 
the  large,  "  careless-ordered  "  garden  with  its  trailing,  tropi- 
cal shrubs  and  fruit-trees  —  the  lordly  araucarias,  the  boat- 
house,  the  stone-walled  bath  wherein  I  had  learned  to  swim 
—  all  came  back  in  that  moment  when  memory  recalled  the 
scenes  and  surroundings  of  my  early  life.  I  could  hear  a 
voice  ever  low  and  sweet,  as  in  the  days  of  my  childhood, 
which  said,  "Oh!  my  boy!  my  boy!  come  back  —  let  me 
see  my  darling's  face  before  I  die." 

I  was  conquered  —  the  temptations  of  the  strange  life, 
with  its  sorceries  and  phantasms,  which  had  so  long 
enveloped  me,  were  swept  away  like  a  ghost-procession  at 
dawn.  And  in  their  place  came  the  steadfast  resolve  to 
return  to  the  home  of  my  youth,  thenceforward  to  pursue 
such  modes  of  life  as  might  be  marked  out  for  me.  In  a 
new  land  like  my  birth-place,  with  a  continent  for  an  arena, 
I  had  no  fear  but  that  a  career  would  open  itself  for  me. 
In  no  country  under  heaven  are  there  so  many  chances  of 
success,  so  many  roads  to  fortune,  as  in  the  lone  wastes 
upon  which  the  Southern  Cross  looks  down.  On  land  or 
sea  —  the  tracks  are  limitless  —  the  avenues  to  fortune 
innumerable.  Gold  was  to  be  had  for  the  seeking;  silver 
and  gems  lay  as  yet  in  their  desert  solitudes,  only  awaiting 
the  adventurer  who,  strong  in  the  daring  of  manhood, 
should  compel  the  waste  to  disclose  its  secrets  —  only 
awaited  the  hour  and  the  man. 

Por  such  enterprises  was  I  peculiarly  fitted.  So  much 
could  then  be  said  without  boast  or  falsehood  on  my  part. 
My  frame,  inured  to  withstand  every  change  of  temperature 
which  sea  or  land  could  furnish,  was  of  unusual  strength. 
By  hard  experience  I  had  learned  to  bear  myself  master- 
fully among  men  of  widely  various  dispositions  and  charac- 
ters.    I  took  my  stand  henceforth  as  a  citizen  of  the  world 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  229 

—  as  a  rover  on  sea  and  land  —  as  more  than  a  suppliant  to 
fortune,  a  ''Conquistador." 


The  homeward  voyage  being  now  fairly  commenced,  I 
began  to  speculate  on  the  probabilities  of  my  future  career. 
During  the  years  which  I  had  passed  among  the  islands  I 
had  acquired  experience  —  more  or  less  valuable  —  but  very 
little  cash.  This  was  chiefly  in  consequence  of  our  crown- 
ing disaster,  the  wreck  of  the  Leonora.  But  for  that  un- 
toward gale,  my  share  of  the  proceeds  of  the  venture  would 
have  exceeded  the  profits  of  all  my  other  trading  enter- 
prises. As  it  was,  I  was  left,  if  not  altogether  penniless, 
still  in  a  position  which  would  debar  me  from  making  more 
than  a  brief  stay  with  my  friends  in  Sydney,  unless  I  con- 
sented to  be  beholden  to  them  for  support.  That  I  held  to 
be  impossible.  For  a  few  weeks  I  felt  that  my  finances 
would  hold  out.  And  after  that,  was  there  not  a  whole 
world  of  adventures  —  risks,  hardships,  dangers,  if  you 
will  —  all  that  makes  life  worth  living  —  open  before  me; 
the  curtain  had  fallen  upon  one  act  of  the  life  drama  of 
Hilary  Telfer.  What  of  that?  Were  there  not  four  more, 
at  least,  to  come? 

Even  the  princess  had  not  arrived.  There  had  been  a 
"  first  robber  "  on  the  boards,  perhaps  —  even  more  of  that 
persuasion.  But  the  principal  stage  business  was  only 
commencing  —  the  denouement  was  obviously  far  off. 
Thereupon  my  hopes  rose  as  if  freshly  illumined.  My 
sanguine  nature  —  boundless  in  faith,  fertile  in  expedient 
—  reasserted  itself.  Temporarily  depressed,  more  in  sym- 
pathy with  Hayston  than  with  my  own  ill-kick,  it  seemed 
more  vigorous  and  elastic  in  rebound  than  ever.  The 
memory  of  my  island  life  became  faint  and  dreamily  indis- 
tinct. The  forms  of  Hayston,  the  king  and  queen,  of 
Lalia,  with  sad,  reproachful  gaze  —  of  Hope  Island  Nellie, 


230  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

lifting  a  rifle  with  the  mien  of  an  angered  goddess  —  of 
Kitty  of  Ebon,  incarnate  daughter  of  the  dusky  Venus  — 
of  the  bronzed  and  wrinkled  trader,  with  blood  and  to  spare 
on  his  sinewy  hand  —  of  young  Harry  and  the  negro 
Johnny.  All  these  forms  and  faces,  once  so  familiar, 
seemed  to  recede  into  the  misty  distance  until  they  faded 
away  from  my  mental  vision. 

With  them  passed  into  shadow-land  the  joyous  life  of  my 
youth  —  of  the  untrammelled,  care-free  existence  —  such  as 
no  man  may  find  again  in  this  world  of  slow,  tracking  care 
and  hasty  disenchantment.  "Was  I  wise?"  I  asked  my- 
self again  and  again,  in  quitting  it  for  the  hard  and  anx- 
ious pursuits  of  the  Continent?  Were  there  not  a  dozen 
places  besides  Strong's  Island  where  I  should  be  welcomed, 
feted,  caressed,  almost  worshipped  as  a  restored  divinity? 
Was  it  well  to  abandon  the  rank  which  I  had  acquired 
among  these  simple  people?  Was  it —  But  no.  For 
ever  had  I  made  the  decision.  Once  resolved,  I  disliked 
changing  my  plans.  Burdened  with  a  regret  which  for 
days  I  could  neither  subdue  nor  remove,  I  adhered  unflinch- 
ingly to  my  resolution,  and  addressed  myself  to  the  steady 
contemplation  of  the  future. 

Now  had  commenced  for  me  a  new  life  —  a  new  world 
socially  speaking.  The  quiet  reserve  and  unemotional 
bearing  of  the  British  officer  was  substituted  for  the  frank 
accost  and  reckless  speecli  of  the  island  trader  or  wander- 
ing mariner.  I  was  prompt,  however,  to  assimilate  the 
modish  bearing  of  my  companions,  and  assisted  by  some 
natural  alertness,  or  perhaps  inherited  tendencies,  soon 
became  undistinguishable  from  the  honourables  and  lord- 
lings  of  the  gun-room.  Upon  my  repose  of  manner,  in- 
deed, I  was  often  complimented.  "By  Jove,  old  fellow," 
one  of  the  offshoots  of  the  British  aristocracy  would  say, 
"  one  would  think  you  had  been  at  Rugby  or  Eton.  And  I 
suppose  you  have  never  seen  England.     Certainly  you  have 


NORFOLK    ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  231 

the  pull  of  us  in  make  and  shape.  1  can't  think  how  they 
grow  such  fellows, —  more  English  than  the  English, — 
with  your  blue  eyes  and  fair  hair,  too,  in  these  God-for- 
saken regions." 

"Because,"  I  said,  "I  am  of  as  pure  English  blood  as 
yourself;  have  been  reared,  and  moulded,  and  surrounded 
by  English  people,  and  have  all  the  traditions  of  the  old 
country  at  my  fingers'  end.  Eor  the  rest,  I  hold  that  this 
end  of  the  Avorld  is  more  favourable  to  the  growth  of  Anglo- 
Saxons,  as  you  call  yourselves,  than  the  other." 

"Well!  it  looks  like  it,  I  must  say,"  said  my  new  friend. 
"  I  only  hope  that  when  the  time  comes  for  fighting,  by  sea 
and  land  —  and,  mark  my  words,  come  it  will  —  that  you 
will  be  found  as  stanch  as  I  think  you  are." 

"  Be  sure  we  shall  be, "  said  I.  "  We  have  inherited  the 
true  English  'grit,'  as  Americans  say.  You  all  said  they 
couldn't  fight  when  their  war  began;  when  it  finished,  the 
world  gave  a  different  verdict.  We  are  our  fathers'  sons, 
neither  more  nor  less.  The  bulHIog  and  the  game-cock 
still  fight  to  the  death  in  our  country.  Many  a  time  have 
I  seen  it.  And  so  will  we  when  our  time  comes,  and  when 
we  think  it  worth  our  while." 


We  carried  an  order  from  the  New  South  Wales  Govern- 
ment to  call  in  at  Norfolk  Island  —  once  the  ocean  prison 
of  the  more  desperate  felons  of  the  old  convict  regime,  who 
had  been  replaced  by  the  descendants  of  the  Pitcairn 
islanders.  They,  in  their  turn  the  descendants  of  mutinous 
sailors  and  Tahitian  women  —  now  the  most  moral,  God- 
fearing, and  ideally  perfect  race  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Wliat  a  miracle  had  been  wrought!  Who  could  have 
imagined  that  the  last  days  of  a  rough  old  sailor,  spent 
among  the  survivors  of  a  group  of  savage  Avomen  who  had 
butchered  their  mates,  could  have  so  firmly  fixed  the  morale 


232  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

of  a  whole  community  that  virtue  should  have  indelibly 
impressed  itelf  upon  a  hundred  families.  Sydney  lies 
about  S.S.W.  from  Kusaie,  but  to  avoid  passing  through 
the  dangers  of  the  New  Hebrides,  and  tlie  reef-studded 
vicinity  of  New  Caledonia,  a  direct  south  course  with  a 
little  easting  was  decided  upon. 

We  made  Norfolk  Island,  the  distance  being  about  two 
thousand  miles,  in  ten  days'  easy  steaming  from  Strong's 
Island.  This  lovely  island  was  discovered  by  Cook  in 
1774. 

A  military  man  writing  of  it  in  1798,  draws  a  compari- 
son between  it  and  Sydney  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
latter.  "  The  air  is  soft  (he  says)  and  the  soil  inexpressi- 
bly productive.  It  is  a  perfect  section  of  paradise.  Our 
officers  and  their  wives  were  sensibly  affected  at  their  de- 
parture, and  what  they  regarded  as  banishment  to  Sydney. " 

Another  officer  writing  of  it  in  1847,  says:  "It  is  by 
nature  a  paradise  adorned  with  all  the  choicest  gifts  of 
nature  —  climate,  scenery,  and  vegetable  productions;  by 
art  and  man's  policy  turned  into  an  earthly  hell,  disfigured 
by  crime,  misery,  and  despair." 

The  island  had  been  brought  into  a  high  state  of  cultiva- 
tion by  convict  labour.  Its  roads,  buildings,  and  gardens 
were  in  admirable  order.  But  with  the  establishment  of 
the  new  regime  —  a  different  race  with  different  tasks  — 
much  was  neglected,  a  part  became  decayed  and  ruinous. 
The  island  is  now  partitioned  into  blocks  of  fifty  acres,  of 
which  each  adult  male  is  allowed  one,  drawn  for  and  de- 
cided by  lot. 

Whale  fishing  is  the  favourite  and  most  profitable  occu- 
pation. Prom  this  and  the  sale  of  farm  produce,  which 
finds  a  market  in  Sydney,  the  inhabitants  are  furnished 
with  all  their  needs  require.  Their  wants  are  few,  simple, 
and  easily  supplied. 

The  old  convict  town  with    its   huge,  dilapidated   bar- 


NORFOLK    ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  233 

racks,  gaol-officers'  quarters,  and  servants'  houses,  is  situ- 
ated on  the  south-east  edge  of  the  island,  where  the  little 
Nepean  islet  gives  sufficient  shelter  to  form  a  precarious 
roadstead  available  in  certain  winds.  The  old  town  is 
occupied  by  the  Pitcairn  islanders  —  in  number  about  three 
hundred. 

Five  miles  across  the  island,  on  its  north-eastern  shore, 
and  communicating  with  it  by  a  fair  road,  lies  the  Melane- 
sian  Mission  estate  of  a  thousand  acres.  Sloping  gently 
down  to  a  low  cliff  and  a  rocky  shore,  the  land  is  an  un- 
dulating meadow,  broken  by  ravines,  and  covered  with  a 
thick  sward  of  conch  grass  or  "doubh,"  said  to  have  been 
imported  from  India,  whence  we  drew  our  chief  food  sup- 
plies so  many  a  year  ago.  Nothing  more  beautiful  in  a 
state  of  nature  had  ever  been  seen,  I  thought,  when  I  first 
cast  my  admiring  eyes  on  it.  Here  and  there  gigantic, 
graceful  pines  (Araucaria  excelsa)  stood  in  stately  groves. 
Higher  up  on  the  flanks  of  Mount  Pitt  (a  thousand  feet 
above)  grow  the  lemon  and  guava,  cotton  and  wild  tobacco. 
The  island  is  nine  hundred  miles  from  Sydney  and  thirteen 
hundred  and  fifty  from  Cape  Pillar,  Tasmania.  The 
Nepean  and  Phillip  Islands  lie  to  the  south  of  the  main 
island. 

We  were  in  such  a  hurry  to  see  the  famous  island  and 
still  more  famous  islanders,  that  we  omitted  a  precaution 
which  had  been  earnestly  impressed  upon  us  the  day  be- 
fore. This  was  not  to  attempt  to  land  unless  we  had  a 
Pitcairner  to  steer.  When  the  long  swell  of  the  Pacific 
rolls  in  upon  the  shallow  beaches  of  Sydney  Bay  there  is 
no  more  dangerous  place  in  the  world  —  the  roadstead  of 
Madras  hardly  excepted  —  than  the  boat  harbour  at  Norfolk 
Island. 

Like  most  sailors,  and  man-of-war's  men  in  particular, 
the  crew  was  reckless  and  confident.  For  myself,  I  was  a 
fair  hand  in  a  boat,  and  had  mixed  in  so  many  cases  of 


234  A    MODERN   BUCCANEER 

touch-and-go,  where  all  hands  would  have  fed  the  sharks 
in  a  few  more  minutes,  that  I  had  lost  any  sense  of  cau- 
tion that  I  might  have  originally  possessed.  As  we  neared 
the  shore,  rising  and  falling  upon  the  tremendous  billows, 
which  told  of  a  scarce  passed  gale,  I  felt  a  sense  of  exhila- 
ration to  which  I  had  been  long  a  stranger.  A  party  of  the 
islanders,  seeing  a  boat  leave  the  ship,  had  come  down  to 
watch  our  landing,  apparently  with  interest.  As  we  came 
closer  I  noticed  them  talking  rapidly  to  one  another,  and 
occasionally  waving  their  arms  to  one  side  or  the  other  as 
if  to  direct  our  steering.  There  were  several  women  in  the 
group,  but  as  we  neared  the  landing  my  attention  was  riv- 
etted  upon  a  girl  who  stood  out  some  distance  from  the 
others  at  the  end  of  a  rocky  point,  which  jutted  beyond  the 
narrow  beach. 

I  had  seen  strikingly  beautiful  faces  and  faultless  forms 
among  the  island  girls,  as  all  unconscious,  they  threw 
themselves  into  attitudes  so  graceful  and  unstudied  that  a 
sculptor  would  have  coveted  them  for  models.  Among 
these  children  of  nature,  roaming  at  will  through  their 
paradisal  isles,  the  perfection  of  the  human  form  had 
doubtless  been  developed.  But  there  was  a  subtle  charm 
about  this  girl,  as  she  stood  with  bare  feet  beside  the  plash- 
ing wave, —  a  statuesque  presentment  of  nobility,  courage, 
and  refinement  which  I  had  never  before  recognised  in  living 
woman.  Tall  and  slender  of  frame,  she  yet  possessed  the 
rounded  outlines  which,  in  all  island  women,  promise  a 
fuller  development  in  the  matured  stage  of  womanhood. 
Her  features  were  delicately  regular;  in  her  large  dark 
eyes  there  was  an  expression  of  strong  interest,  deepening 
almost  into  fear,  as  she  gazed  at  our  incoming  boat.  She 
had  bent  slightly  forward,  and  stood  poised  on  her  rock 
as  if  waiting  for  a  signal  to  plunge  into  the  boiling  surf. 
Her  complexion  was  so  fair  that,  but  for  her  attitude,  which 
spoke  her  a  daughter  of  the  sea,  one  which  no  mortal  born 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  235 

away  from  the  music  of  the  surges  could  have  assumed,  I 
might  have  taken  her  for  an  Englishwoman. 

"  In  the  name  of  all  the  divine  maidens  since  Nausicaa  " 
(I  had  not  quite  forgotten  my  Odyssey,  rusty  though  was 
my  G-reek)  "who  can  she  be?"  thought  I. 

At  this  point  my  reflections  and  conjectures  came  to  an 
abrupt  end,  as,  indeed,  nearly  did  also  "the  fever  called 
living  "  in  my  particular  case.  I  felt  the  boat  rise  heaven- 
wards on  the  back  of  a  tremendous  roller.  The  islanders 
shouted  as  though  to  warn  us  of  danger,  the  steersman  gave 
the  tiller  a  wrong  turn,  or  omitted  to  give  it  the  right  one, 
and  the  next  moment  the  boat  was  buried  beneath  an  ava- 
lanche of  foam,  with  crew  and  passengers  struggling  for 
their  lives.  I  could  swim  well,  that  is,  of  course,  compar- 
atively, for  tlie  difference  between  the  best  performance  of 
a  white  man  —  well  practised  from  youth  though  he  be  — 
and  of  an  islander  is  as  that  of  a  dog  and  a  fish.  Still, 
having  risen  to  the  surface,  I  made  no  doubt  but  that  I 
could  easily  gain  a  landing.  In  this  I  was  deceived.  As 
in  other  spots,  the  constant  surf  concealed  a  treacherous 
undertow  against  which  the  ordinary  swimmer  is  power- 
less. Again  and  again  did  I  gain  foothold,  to  be  swept 
back  by  the  resistless  power  of  the  backward  current. 
Each  time  I  became  weaker,  and  at  length,  after  a  long 
fruitless  struggle,  I  closed  my  eyes  and  resigned  myself  to 
my  fate.  Borne  backward  and  half  fainting,  I  saw  the 
whole  party  of  natives  in  the  water  mingling  with  the  crew, 
who,  like  myself,  had  been  making  desperate  efforts  to 
reach  the  landing. 

My  senses  were  leaving  me;  darkness  was  before  my 
eyes,  when  dimly,  as  in  a  dream,  I  seemed  to  mark  the  girl 
upon  the  rock  plunge  with  the  gliding  motion  of  a  seal  into 
the  boiling  foam.  Her  bosom  shone  as  with  outstretched 
arms  she  parted  the  foaming  tide,  her  short  under-dress, 
reaching  only  to  the  knees,  offered  no  impediment  to  the 


236  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

freedom  of  her  limbs.  I  felt  soft  arms  around  me.  A 
cloud  of  dusky  hair  enveloped  me.  Strains  of  unearthly- 
music  floated  in  my  ears.  It  was  the  dirge  of  the  mer- 
maidens,  as  they  wail  over  the  drowned  sailor  and  bear  him 
with  song  and  lament  to  his  burial  cavern.  All  suddenly 
it  ceased. 


The  raid-day  sun  had  pierced  the  roof  and  side  of  the 
cottage  wherein  I  was  lying  upon  a  couch,  softly  matted. 
When  I  awoke  I  looked  around.  Surely  I  had  been 
.drowned,  and  must  be  dead  and  gone!  How,  then,  was  I 
once  more  in  a  place  where  the  sun  shone,  where  there  were 
mats  and  signs  of  ordinary  life?  I  closed  my  eyes  in  half- 
denial  of  the  evidences  of  my  so-called  senses.  Then,  as  I 
raised  myself  with  difficulty,  the  door  opened  and  a  man 
entered. 

He  was  a  tall,  grandly  developed  Pitcairner,  one  of  the 
men  who  had  been  on  board  the  night  before.  His  face 
was  dark,  with  the  tint  of  those  races  which,  though  far 
removed  from  the  blackness  of  the  Ethiop,  are  yet  distinct 
from  the  pure  white  family  of  mankind.  But  his  eyes, 
curiously,  were  of  bright  and  distinct  blue,  in  hereditary 
transmission,  doubtless,  from  that  ancestor  who  had  formed 
one  of  the  historic  mutineers  of  the  Bounty. 

"  You've  had  a  close  shave,  Hilary.  That's  your  name, 
I  believe.  A  trifle  more  salt  water  and  you'd  have  been 
with  the  poor  chap  that's  drowned.  We  got  all  the  crew 
out  but  him." 

"I  thought  I  ivas  drowned,"  I  replied,  "but  I  begin  to 
perceive  that  I'm  alive.  I  see  you're  of  the  same  opinion, 
so  I  suppose  it's  all  right." 

"  It's  not  a  thing  to  laugh  at, "  the  Pitcairner  said  gravely. 
"  God  saw  fit  to  save  you  tliis  time.  To  Him  and  Miranda 
you  owe  your  tlianks  for  being  where  you  are  now." 


NORFOLK    ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  237 

"  There  are  people  in  Sydney,"  I  said,  "who  will  be  foolish 
enough  to  be  glad  of  it,  and  after  I  have  a  little  time  to 
think,  I  daresay  I  shall  be  pleased  myself.  But  who  is 
Miranda,  and  how  did  she  save  me?" 

"Miranda  Christian,  my  cousin,  is  the  girl  you  saw 
standing  on  the  rock.  She  had  a  strong  fight  of  it  to  get 
you  in,  and  but  for  one  of  us  going  on  each  side  neither  of 
you  would  have  come  out.  We  had  been  hard  at  it  trying 
to  save  the  crew,  and  nearly  left  it  too  late.  She  was  just 
about  done." 

"  I  shall  be  uneasy  till  I  thank  her.  What  a  brave  girl ! 
And  what  am  I  to  call  you?  " 

"Fletcher  Quintal,  and  her  cousin,"  the  islander  replied, 
drawing  himself  up  and  looking  at  me  with  a  steady  gaze. 
"You  won't  see  her  till  the  afternoon.  She  has  gone  home 
to  rest  after  staying  with  you  till  you  came  to.  My  sister, 
Dorcas,  will  bring  you  food  directly,  and  perhaps  you'd 
better  rest  yourself  too  till  sundown.  Then  some  of  us 
will  pay  you  a  visit.     Good  morning." 

A  pleasant-faced  damsel,  with  the  sparkling  eyes  and 
perfect  teeth  of  the  race,  came  in  shortly  afterwards,  who 
smilingly  informed  me  that  her  name  was  Dorcas  Quintal, 
and  that  her  cousin  Miranda  had  told  her  she  was  not  to 
talk  much  to  me. 

However,  during  the  time  occupied  in  making  a  credita- 
ble lunch  —  all  things  considered,  —  I  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing her  that  I  was  strong  enough  for  a  decent  dose  of 
gossip,  in  the  course  of  which  I  learned  several  interesting 
pieces  of  information  about  Miranda,  who  certainly  had 
posed  as  my  Guardian  Angel  in  the  late  accident.  She 
was,  according  to  Dorcas,  the  leader  in  all  sports  and  pas- 
times, and  also  the  most  learned  and  accomplished  damsel 
on  the  island.  "  She  sang  and  played  in  their  church  choir. 
She  had  read  all  the  poets  in  the  world,"  Dorcas  believed. 
"  She  could  recite  pages  and  pages  of  poetry  and  history. 


238  A   INIODERN   BUCCANEER 

Altogether  she  was  a  wonderful  girl  to  be  born  and.  brought 
up  in  such  a  place  as  Norfolk  Island,  where  we  never  see 
any  one  "  —  here  Dorcas  wreathed  her  lips  into  an  expres- 
sive pout  —  "  that  is,  except  captains  of  ships  and  strangers 
like  yourself." 

"  So  she  is  quite  perfect,"  I  said,  "  alike  on  land  and  sea. 
I  can  vouch  for  the  last.  I  suppose  she  can  pull  an  oar 
and  is  quite  at  home  in  a  boat  ?  " 

"  Indeed  she  is,"  answered  Dorcas,  warming  up.  "  She 
can  sail  a  cutter  with  any  man  on  the  island,  and  steer  a 
whaleboat  besides.  You  should  see  her  standing  up  with 
the  big  steer  oar  in  those  tiny  hands  of  hers." 

"  So,  then,  she  has  no  faults  ?  "  I  queried,  a  little  mis- 
chievously. 

The  girl  smiled.  "  I  suppose  we  have  all  some  here  as 
in  other  places.  She  is  rather  proud  and  quiet,  the  other 
girls  say.  I  never  saw  it,  and  if  there  is  anything  else  you 
must  find  it  out  for  yourself.  And  now,  as  you  have  fin- 
ished eating  and  drinking,  I  must  go.  Miranda  will  be 
here  by  and  by." 

"  Only  one  word,  Dorcas,"  said  I,  as  she  turned  towards 
the  doorway.  ''How  many  admirers  has  she  —  all  the 
young  men  in  the  island,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Only  one,"  she  replied,  impressively,  "my  brother, 
Fletcher  Quintal.     He  would  die  for  her." 

"And  she?" 

The  girl  paused  before  replying,  and  gazed  earnestly  at 
me. 

"She  says  she  will  never  marry."  And  with  that  she 
passed  out  and  left  me  to  my  meditations. 

I  must  have  been  fatigued,  even  bruised  and  battered  by 
my  conflict  with  sea  and  shore,  as  I  felt  a  kind  of  lassitude 
creep  over  me,  and  presently  fell  into  a  dreamless  sleep, 
which  lasted  till  the  su.n  was  low  and  the  dimness  of  the 
light  told  me  that  the  day  had  passed. 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  239 

I  raised  myself  and  saw  Miranda  sitting  on  a  low  stool 
near  the  window,  or  the  aperture  which  served  for  one.  As 
I  turned,  she  smiled  and  came  towards  me,  putting  out  her 
hand  for  me  to  take,  and  gazing  into  my  face  with  a  frank 
pleasure  of  the  unspoiled  woman  of  the  woods  and  fields. 
"I  have  to  thank  you  for  my  life,"  I  said,  as  I  pressed 
her  hand  warmly.  "It  is  of  no  great  value  to  any  one, 
as  things  have  been  going  lately,  but  being  such  as  it  is, 
you  have  my  warmest  gratitude.  I  should  hardly  have 
changed  for  the  worse  if  I  had  been  lying  beside  poor  Bill 
Dacre." 

"  You  must  not  talk  in  that  mocking  way,"  she  said,  with 
a  pained  expression  like  that  of  a  hurt  child.  "  God  has 
given  us  all  a  life  to  use  for  some  good  purpose.  Surely 
you  have  friends?  perhaps  a  mother  and  sisters,  who 
would  weep  when  they  heard  you  were  lying  under  the 
waves?" 

"You  are  right,  Miranda,  and  I  will  not  talk  foolishly 
again ;  but  I  thank  you  with  my  whole  heart  for  your  noble 
courage  in  risking  your  life  to  save  mine.  I  wonder  now 
how  we  both  got  to  land,  in  spite  of  that  beastly  undertow?  " 

"I  never  could  have  done  it  without  help,"  she  said.  "I 
was  nearly  exhausted,  yet  T  did  not  like  to  let  you  go,  when 
Pletcher  Quintal  and  Peter  Mills,  who  had  each  brought  out 
a  man,  swam  in  again,  and  we  came  in  between  them." 

"You  seem  to  be  quite  at  home  in  the  water,"  I  said. 
"  I  thought  I  could  swim,  and  at  Strong's  Island  and  other 
places  could  hold  my  own  with  the  natives  pretty  well. 
But  I  found  my  mistake  here." 

"Of  course  we  all  swim  well,"  she  replied,  smiling,  "and 
know  how  to  manage  a  boat.  It  would  be  curious  if  we 
did  not;  there  is  little  else  to  do,  in  Norfolk  Island,  except 
when  we  are  working  in  the  fields.  Our  life  is  sometimes 
dull,  I  must  allow." 

"I  hear  that  you  can  do  all  sorts  of  other  things,"  I  said. 


240  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

"That  you  are  the  chief  musician  and  teacher,  besides 
being  commander  of  the  fleet." 

"  Dorcas  has  been  chattering,  I  am  afraid, "  she  answered, 
while  a  bhish  rose  to  her  brow,  tingeing  the  pallor  of  her 
ivory  cheek  with  faint  carmine.  "  I  certainly  have  a  variety 
of  occupations,  and  very  fortunate  it  is !  Otherwise,  I  don't 
know  what  would  happen  to  •  me,  for  I  am  scarcely  as  con- 
tented as  my  cousins  and  the  other  girls  on  the  island." 

"It  is  the  old  story,"  I  said.  "Now,  why  should  you 
not  be  contented  on  this  lovely  island  where  you  have  all 
you  could  wish  for  in  the  world  —  perfect  freedom,  a 
matchless  climate,  exercise,  adventure,  the  love  of  your 
kinsfolk,  everything  that  satisfies  the  heart  of  woman?"    . 

"Everytliing  necessary  to  satisfy  a  woman's  heart!"  she 
said,  rising  and  walking  to  where  the  casement  admitted  a 
view  of  the  heaving  deep  with  the  Rosario  lying  on  and  off. 
"Can  you  look  at  the  boundless  ocean  with  its  thousand 
paths  to  the  cities  of  the  earth  and  not  wish  to  roam?  To 
see  the  glories  of  the  old  world,  all  the  varied  richly-coloured 
life  of  ancient  nations  that  I  have  read  of  and  see  in  my 
dreams?  Do  you  think  men  only  are  impatient  of  "a 
hemmed-in  life?  It  is  not  so.  Women  have  their  long- 
ings for  a  wider  range,  a  larger  sphere;  and  yet  I  am  per- 
haps the  only  girl  on  the  island  that  feels  what  I  have 
described." 

"You  must  have  read  much,"  I  said,  rather  startled  at 
this  burst  of  feeling  from  the  lips  of  a  Norfolk  Island 
damsel  —  a  child  of  the  most  contented  community  in  the 
world.  "  These  strange  yearnings  must  have  been  awakened 
in  you  through  the  word-painting  of  these  wicked  authors." 

"And  why  not?"  she  answered,  with  heightened  colour 
and  flashing  eye.  "That  my  world  is  one  of  books  I  do  not 
deny.  I  have  daily  tasks  and  occupations,  but  my  evenings 
are  my  own,  and  in  them  I  read  and  muse.  Then  this  little 
island,  with  its  patient,  primitive  people,  seems  to  fade 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  241 

away.  I  spend  hours  in  Italy,  where  I  revel  in  Florence, 
the  Pitti  Palace,  the  Arno,  and  roam  the  streets  of  the 
Eternal  City  amid  the  monuments  of  the  world's  grandest 
era,  their  very  decay  'an  Empire's  dust.'  I  fall  asleep  often 
when  reclining  on  the  banks  of  'Tiber,  Father  Tiber,  to 
whom  the  Romans  pray.'  But,  oh!  if  I  begin  to  wander 
away  in  the  track  of  my  visions  I  shall  never  stop.  And 
you,"  she  continued  with  an  eager  glance,  "you,  who  have 
seen  men  and  cities,  are  you  contented  to  linger  away  your 
life  under  cocoa-palms  and  bread-fruit  trees,  taking  in  glori- 
ous ease  among  simple  savages  until  you  become  one  your- 
self in  all  but  the  colour?  Is  this  what  you  were  born  and 
reared  and  educated  for?" 

As  the  girl  thus  spoke,  Avith  head  upraised  and  exalted 
mien,  her  wondrous  eyes  flashing  with  almost  unearthly 
light,  her  mobile  lineaments  changing  with  each  varying 
mood,  she  looked  in  her  strange  and  unfamiliar  beauty  like 
some  virgin  prophetess  of  the  days  of  old,  rousing  her 
countrymen  to  deeds  of  patriotic  valour  or  self-sacrificing 
heroism. 

All  enthusiasm  is  contagious,  more  especially  when  the 
enthusiast  is  fair  to  look  upon,  and  belongs  to  that  sex  for, 
or  on  account  of  which,  so  much  of  the  world's  strife  has 
resulted. 

For  the  first  time  I  began  seriously  to  ask  myself  what 
motives  had  led  me  to  waste  so  large  a  portion  of  my 
youth  in  heedless  wandering  among  these  fairy  isles.  What 
were  my  aims  in  life  ?  What  did  I  propose  to  myself  ? 
As  I  looked  at  the  girl's  face,  aglow  with  the  fire  of  a 
noble  ambition,  I  felt  humbled  and  ashamed. 

"You  have  spoken  truly,  Miranda,"  I  replied,  after  a 
long  pause,  during  which  my  fair  questioner  looked  with  a 
far-away  gaze  across  the  ocean  plain,  now  quenching  its 
thousand  shifting  gleams  in  the  quick-falling  tropic  night. 
"  I  have  been  idly  careless  and  unheeding  of  the  future. 


242  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

satisfied  with  the  day's  toil  and  the  day's  pleasure.  But  I 
am  going  back  to  my  people  in  Australia ;  there  I  shall 
begin  a  new  life.  It  is  a  land  of  duty,  of  labour,  and  its 
enduring  reward.  There  I  shall  renew  the  tension  of  my 
moral  fibre  which  has  been  too  long  relaxed.  But  you 
must  not  be  too  hard  on  me.  I  have  had  to  face  losses, 
dangers,  and  misfortunes.  I  have  been  wrecked;  I  lost 
everything  I  had  in  the  world.  I  have  been  ill ;  have  been 
wounded ;  and,  but  for  some  of  those  simple  islanders  you 
seem  to  despise,  I  should  not  have  been  a  living  man 
to-day." 

*'  I  do  not  despise  them,"  she  said ;  "  of  course  every  one 
knows  that  we  are  descended  from  those  of  Tahiti.  I  only 
say  that  they  are  not  fit  companions  for  white  men  —  I 
mean  of  educated  white  men  who  in  the  end  become  as  bad 
as  they  are  —  even  worse  —  much  worse.  But  tell  me  about 
your  being  ill.     And  who  tended  you  ?    Was  it  a  woman  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  all  about  it  to-morrow  if  you  will  walk 
with  me  and  show  me  some  of  the  scenery  of  this  beautiful 
island  of  yours.  But  it  is  a  long  story,  and  it  is  too  late  to 
begin  to-night." 

"I  should  like  it  above  all  things,"  she  said  frankly, 
"  though  you  must  have  seen  so  many  grand  places  in  your 
roamiugs  that  our  poor  landscapes  will  hardly  interest 
you." 

"  Much  depends  on  the  guide,"  I  said,  as  I  gazed  admir- 
ingly at  her  eloquent  countenance. 

"I  know  that,"  she  answei-ed,  meeting  my  too  ardent 
gaze  with  perfect  unconsciousness  of  any  hidden  meaning. 
"  They  tell  me  I  am  the  best  guide  on  the  island,  and  indeed 
I  should  be,  for  my  father  and  I  were  never  tired  of  explor- 
ing and  finding  out  traces  of  the  old  occupation  by  the 
Sydney  Government,  and  many  curious  discoveries  we 
made.     So  I  will  come  here  after  breakfast  to-morrow." 

She  was  true  to  her  appointment,  and  then  commenced 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  243 

a  series  of  delightful  rambles  which,  perhaps,  I  more  truly 
enjoyed  than  many  later  and  more  pretentious  travels. 

In  despite  of  Miranda's  depreciation  of  her  lovely  isle  we 
found  endless  excuses  for  interest  and  admiration.  It  was 
truly  a  wonderful  little  *'  kingdom  by  the  sea."  Scraped 
along  the  side  of  a  hill  would  be  one  of  the  beautiful  roads 
constructed  by  the  forced  labour  of  the  convicts  which  at 
one  time  almost  filled  the  island.  Rising  from  the  valley 
slope  were  gigantic  ferns,  broad-leaved  palms,  lemons, 
oranges,  guavas,  all  originally  imported,  but  now  flourish- 
ing in  the  wildest  luxuriance  in  the  rich  soil  and  semi- 
tropical  climate ;  while  above  all,  stately  and  columnar, 
rose  the  great  Araucaria  peculiar  to  the  island  —  the  Nor- 
folk Island  pine  of  the  colonists. 

Hand  in  hand  we  roamed  together  through  this  Eden 
amid  the  main,  as  though  our  great  progenitors  had  again 
been  transplanted  to  this  wondrous  wild  —  a  latter  day 
Adam,  by  whose  side  smiled  a  sinless  Eve  —  pure  as  her 
prototype,  and  yet  informed  of  much  of  the  lore  which 
men  had  wrested  from  the  rolling  ages.  Together  we 
explored  the  gloomy  corridors  and  echoing  halls  of  the 
ruinous  prison  houses  —  once  the  dark  abodes  of  sorrow, 
torment,  and  despair  unutterable. 

Miranda  shuddered  at  the  thought  that  these  dismal 
cells  and  courtyards  had  echoed  to  the  cries  of  criminals 
under  the  lash  —  to  the  clanking  of  chains  —  had  even 
witnessed  the  death  penalty  inflicted  on  the  murderer  and 
the  mutineer. 

Mute  and  terrible  witnesses  were  they  to  the  guilt  to 
which  human  nature  may  descend  —  to  the  abysmal  depths 
of  despair  into  which  the  felon  and  the  outcast  may  be 
hurled,  when,  hopeless  of  help  from  God  or  man,  he 
abandons  himself  to  all  the  baser  instincts. 

We  seldom  lingered  amid  these  sullen  retreats,  around 
which  Miranda  always  declared  she  heard  sighs  and  groan- 


244  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

iugs,  sobs,  and  even  shrieks,  as  though  the  spirits  of  those 
who  had  suffered,  and  mourned,  and  died  amidst  the  horrors 
unspeakable  of  prison  life  still  lingered  amid  the  ruins  of 
their  place  of  torment. 

How  strange,  well-nigh  impossible,  it  even  seemed  to  me 
that  the  very  eartli,  the  dumb  witness  of  crime  immeasur- 
able, was  not  polluted  irredeemably  by  the  deeds  that  she 
had  perforce  endured  and  condoned.  And  now  —  stranger 
than  aught  that  dreaming  poet  or  seer  imagined  —  that 
this  Inferno  should  have  been  transmuted  into  an  Arcadia, 
purer  and  more  stainless  than  the  fabled  land  of  old,  and 
peopled  by  the  most  obediently  moral  and  conscientious 
family  of  mankind  that  had  ever  gathered  the  fruits  of  the 
earth  since  the  days  of  our  first  parents. 

Day  after  day  followed  of  this  charmed  life  —  magical, 
unreal,  only  in  that  it  transcended  all  niy  other  experiences 
in  the  degree  that  the  glamour  of  fairyland  and  the  com- 
panionship of  the  queen  of  Elfland  may  have  exceeded  the 
memorials  of  Ercildoune.  If  he  was  enchanted,  I  was  spell- 
bound even  as  true  Thomas.  Never  had  I  met  with  a 
companion  who  combined  all  the  charm  of  womanhood  — 
the  grace  and  joyousness  of  girlhood's  most  resistless  period 
—  with  the  range  of  thought  and  intellectual  progress  which 
this  singular  girl,  amid  her  lonely  isle  and  restricted  com- 
panionship, had  explored.  And  withal,  she  had  remained 
in  her  almost  infantine  unconsciousness  of  evil  —  her  vir- 
ginal, instinctive  repulsion  of  all  things  forbidden  and  de- 
barred —  like  a  being  of  another  planet. 

********* 

Naturally  an  end  arrived  to  this  blissful  state  of  things. 
The  man-of-war  after  a  few  days  was  compelled  to  continue 
her  voyage  and  perform  her  allotted  duties,  which  compre- 
hended surveys  of  uncharted  coast-lines  and  suspected  rocks. 
I  had  to  choose  between  going  on  to  Sydney  and  remaining  in 


NORFOLK    ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  245 

this  clianiietl  isle.  And  here  inclination  and  duty  appeared 
to  draw  dilt'erent  ways  with  equal  strength.  1  was  natu- 
rally anxious  to  return  to  my  birth-i)lace,  my  family,  and 
friends.  My  feelings  of  home-sickness  had  returned  with 
redoubled  strength  after  being  long  in  abeyance.  But  all 
such  doubts  and  distrusts  were  swept  away  like  storm  wrack 
before  the  swelling  surges  of  Miranda's  own  isle.  I  was 
fain  to  yield  to  the  resistless  force  of  the  passion  which 
now  dominated,  nay,  consumed  me.  True,  I  had  not  as 
yet  definitely  assured  myself  that  this  purest  pearl  of 
womanhood  was  within  my  grasp.  I  had  made  no  proffer 
of  my  affections.  I  had  not,  in  so  many  Avords,  solicited 
the  priceless  gift  of  hers.  But  I  was  not  so  unskilled  in 
affairs  of  the  heart  as  to  mistake  many  a  sign  and  symbol 
from  Love's  own  alphabet,  denoting  that  the  outworks  of 
the  citadel  were  yielding,  and  that  the  fortress  would  ere 
long  open  gate  and  drawbridge  to  the  invader. 

True  to  nature's  own  teaching,  Miranda  had  not  scrupled 
to  confess  and  dilate  upon  the  pleasure  my  companionship 
afforded  her,  to  declare  that  never  before  in  her  life  had 
she  been  half  so  happy,  to  wonder  if  my  sisters  would  not 
die  of  joy  when  I  returned,  to  chide  me  for  my  long  absence 
from  them  and  from  such  a  home  as  I  had  often  described 
to  her.  And  all  this  with  the  steady  eye  and  frank  expres- 
sion of  girlish  pleasure,  which  a  less  unsophisticated  damsel 
would  scarcely  have  acknowledged  without  conscious  blushes 
and  downcast  eyes. 

Miranda,  on  the  other  hand,  stated  her  sensations  calmly 
and  fearlessly,  her  wondrous  eyes  meeting  mine  with  all 
the  trustful  eagerness  of  a  happy  child,  as  if  it  was  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world.  "  You  see,  Hilary,"  she 
would  say,  laying  her  hand  lightly  on  my  arm,  and  looking 
up  in  an  appealing  manner,  "I  have  never  met  any  one 
before  who  seems  to  understand  my  feelings  as  you  do 
apparently  by  instinct.     You  have  travelled  and   been  in 


246  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

other  places  besides  the  islands,  and  you  have  read  books 
— nearly  all  those  which  I  have.  You  know  that  story  in 
the  Arabian  Nights  about  the  prince  that  was  changed  into 
a  bird  ?  He  knew  that  he  was  a  prince,  yet  he  was  con- 
demned to  be  dumb,  and  was  unable  to  convey  his  feelings, 
because  to  all  the  world  he  was  only  a  bird. 

"  I  sometimes  think  we  Pitcairu  girls  live  the  life  of 
birds  —  like  that  one,"  and  she  pointed  to  a  soaring  white- 
winged  sea-bird,  which  presently  darted  downwards,  fall- 
ing like  a  stone  upon  the  blue  ocean  wave.  "  We  swim 
and  fish,  we  are  almost  more  on  the  sea  than  the  land,  we 
sleep  on  the  land  like  that  white  bird,  walk  a  little,  talk  a 
little,  —  that  is  our  whole  life.  I  think  the  bird  has  the 
best  of  it,  as  she  can  fly  and  we  cannot." 

"  But  you  all  seem  happy  and  contented,"  I  said,  "you 
and  your  cousins." 

"  They  are,  but  I  seem  to  have  been  born  under  a  differ- 
ent star.  I  must  have  inherited  some  of  the  restless, 
adventurous  spirit  of  my  ancestor,  Fletcher  Christian. 

"The  feeling  of  unrest  and  the  desire  to  see  the  world  — 
the  wonderful,  ancient,  beautiful  world  of  which  we,  in  this 
island  prison,  for  lovely  as  it  is,  it  is  but  a  prison  for  free 
souls  —  becomes  so  intense  at  times  that  I  almost  dread  lest 
I  should  end  my  life  like  his." 

"  And  in  what  way  was  that  ?  "  I  asked.  "  God  forbid 
you  should  ever  do  a  deed  so  terrible,"  I  said. 

"  Do  you  not  know  ?  He  used  to  go  every  day  to  the 
top  of  a  high  cliff  on  the  south  side  of  Pitcairn  to  gaze  over 
the  ocean  —  as  I  have  done  hundreds  of  times  —  thinking, 
perhaps,  of  the  wonderlands  beyond,  where  he  had  forfeited 
the  right  to  live  by  his  own  act ;  and  —  and  one  day  he 
threw  himself  over  the  cliff,  and  they  found  his  body  on  the 
rocks  below.  Poor  Fletcher !  I  can  partly  understand  his 
feelings." 

This  was  but  one  of  our  many  conversations,  always  fas- 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  AKCADIA  247 

cinating  to  me,  as  affording  the  rare  privilege  of  exploring 
a  mind  naturally  of  high  intelligence,  developed  by  patient 
thought  and  a  wide  range  of  reading,  —  the  island  library, 
enriched  by  many  generous  gifts,  being  by  no  means  a  poor 
one,  —  guarded  from  deterioration  by  an  exquisite  natural 
refinement,  yet  withal  clear  and  limpid  as  the  transparent 
seas  which  encircled  her  home,  where  the  more  deeply  the 
eye  penetrated  the  more  precious  were  the  treasures  dis- 
closed. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Rosario  sailed  without  me. 
The  Captain  and  my  jolly  comrades  of  the  gun-room  chaffed 
me  about  what  they  called  my  imprudent  attachment. 
"  You'll  have  to  turn  Pitcairner,"  they  said,  "  and  settle 
down  after  old  Nobbs  has  spliced  you  upon  a  fifty-acre 
patch,  where  you  can  grow  sweet  potatoes,  yams,  and  maize 
to  the  end  of  your  days.  Surely  a  fellow  like  you,  with  a 
family  to  go  back  to,  has  something  better  in  view  than 
that ! " 

"  I  shall  not  stay  on  the  island,"  I  said,  "  I  intend  to  live 
in  Australia,  perhaps  near  Sydney." 

"  Then  your  island  princess  will  run  away  and  leave  you 
disconsolate.  They  can't  live  away  from  their  people  and 
where  they  were  brought  up.  Some  of  them  insisted  on 
going  back  to  Pitcairn,  and  are  there  now.  They  could  not 
be  persuaded  from  it.  They  had  to  let  them  go.  They 
would  have  died  else." 

"  I  have  resolved,"  I  said.  "  I  will  take  all  risks.  You 
shall  all  come  and  see  us  in  Sydney.  We  will  live  at 
North  Shore,  and  have  a  yacht  built  on  the  lines  of  the 
Leonora.     Adios ! " 

So  we  parted.  The  Rosario  got  up  steam,  and  once  more 
I  watched  the  black  cloud  of  smoke  pouring  from  her  fun- 
nels and  the  waves  breaking  as  she  moved  majestically 
across  the  bright-hued  ocean. 

Up  to  the  last  moment  my  simple   and   warm-hearted 


248  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

friends  on  the  island  had  serious  doubts  as  to  whether  I 
was  not  going  off  in  the  Rosario.  They  coukl  hardly  under- 
stand how  I  could  prefer  remaining  as  their  guest  and 
friend  when  the  glory  and  dignity  of  a  man-of-war  —  their 
highest  expression  of  maritime  splendour  —  were  open 
to  me. 

They  had,  it  is  true,  implored  me  to  stay  with  them  for 
a  few  months  longer  —  the  young  men  were  equally  press- 
ing with  the  older  members  of  the  community.  With  art- 
less candour  the  girls  promised  that  if  I  would  stay  Miranda 
should  be  my  constant  companion,  and,  except  on  Sundays, 
when,  as  their  chief  musician  and  organist,  she  could  not 
naturally  be  spared,  I  should  have  a  monopoly  of  her 
society. 

"You  seem  to  like  her  so  much,"  Dorcas  Quintal  repeat- 
edly exclaimed.  "And  I  am  certain  she  likes  you  more 
than  any  one  she  has  ever  seen.  The  worst  of  it  is  that 
she  will  be  so  sorry  when  you  have  to  go  away.  Clara 
Young  nearly  died  when  her  friend  went  away.  That  was 
two  years  ago.  But  she  got  over  it  in  time,  and  now  she  is 
happily  married.  But  she  did  try  to  drown  herself  one  day, 
only  we  were  too  quick  for  her." 

"It  is  a  bad  thing  to  have  strangers  for  friends,"  I  said, 
"if  it  may  end  so  tragically  when  they  leave.  I  wonder 
you  entertain  such  dangerous  visitors." 

"  I  suppose  we  can't  help  it,"  the  girl  replied,  laughingly. 
"It  is  so  pleasant  to  talk  with  men  who  know  the  great 
world  we  can  only  read  about.  We  just  take  our  chance. 
We  have  plenty  to  do,  and  that  prevents  us  from  fretting 
too  inuch.  I  daresay  you  will  hear  a  little  crying  to-night. 
We  are  all  very  sorry  the  big  ship  is  gone." 

"  It's  the  old,  old  story,  Dorcas !  Girls  are  a  good  deal 
alike  all  the  world  over,  I  suppose,  in  many  of  their  ways. 
But  you  Pitcairners  are  certainly  different  in  some  respects 
to  any  women  I  know  anywhere." 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  249 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  the  girl,  eagerly.  "I 
know  we  are  simple,  and  have  never  been  taught  very 
much." 

"  It  isn't  that.  I  will  tell  you  before  I  go,  or  rather,  I 
will  tell  jMiranda,  and  she  shall  tell  you  what  I  say." 

So,  with  the  full  approbation  of  friends  and  relations  of 
every  degree  of  relationship,  and,  what  was  of  more  conse- 
quence, with  the  good-will  of  the  spiritual  pastor  and  master 
of  the  island,  whose  authority  was  absolute  and  unques- 
tioned, Miranda  and  I  pursued  our  untroubled  way.  In 
this  wondrous  Arcadia  there  were  no  jealousies,  no  scandals, 
no  asking  of  intentions,  no  fiery,  disappointed  aspirants,  no 
infuriated  brothers,  —  these  obstacles  to  pure  and  true  love 
were  evidently  the  outcome  of  a  higher  or  a  lower  stage  of 
civilisation.  No  evil  consequences  had  ever  occurred  from 
unrestricted  freedom  of  intercourse  between  the  young 
people  since  the  formation  of  the  community.  Xo  such 
result  was  regarded  as  possible.  Immutably  fixed  in  my 
own  course,  I  knew  that  nothing  —  humanly  speaking  — 
could  affect  my  unalterable  resolve.  I  had  discovered  a 
pearl  of  womanhood,  matchless  in  beauty  of  mind  and  body, 
combining  the  higher  mental  qualities,  indeed,  with  such 
physical  perfection  as  no  girl  reared  under  less  fortunate 
conditions  was  likely  to  possess.  With  regard  to  the 
future,  if  she  consented  to  link  her  fate  with  mine  I  was 
ready  to  take  all  the  risks  of  fortune.  The  fickle  goddess 
has  always  favoured  the  brave,  and  with  Miranda  at  my 
side  I  felt  that  I  could  lead  the  forlorn  hopes  of  desperate 
endeavour,  or  endure  uncomplainingly  the  toil  and  self- 
denial  of  the  humblest  station.  I  had,  it  is  true,  led  a 
careless,  somewhat  epicurean  life  in  the  past,  surrendering 
myself  perhaps  too  readily  to  the  charm  of  island  life.  But 
this  was  of  the  past,  and  the  half-instinctive  folly  period  of 
youth.  Henceforth  I  would  essay  the  culture  of  the  mental 
qualities  witli  which  I  had  been  reasonably  gifted,  turning 


250  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

to  account  also  that  very  sound  and  thorough  early  tuition 
through  which  I  had  fortunately  passed.  Thus  equipped, 
and  Avith  a  helpmate  at  once  loving  and  practical  —  devoted 
to  duty  and  the  highest  forms  of  unselfish  charity  —  ambi- 
tious only  for  intellectual  experience  and  development  —  I 
felt  that  hope  became  certainty  and  success  a  mere  matter 
of  detail.  After  the  departure  of  the  Rosario  I  became 
almost  a  son  by  adoption  among  the  elders  of  the  com- 
munity. I  learned  to  accommodate  myself  to  their  ways, 
after  a  fashion  which  was  rendered  more  easy  by  my  years 
of  familiarity  with  island  life.  At  the  same  time  I  was 
careful  not  to  infringe  in  the  slightest  degree  upon  their 
peculiar  customs,  or  to  shock  those  religious  prejudices 
which  were  so  earnestly  accepted  in  the  community.  It 
was  taken  for  granted  that  I  would  settle  among  them  in 
right  of  my  bride.  If  I  decided  to  marry  Miranda,  or  any 
other  island  maiden,  I  should  be  put  in  possession  of  a 
landed  estate  of  fifty  acres,  where  I  might  dream  away  life 
in  a  round  of  labour  that  was  half  recreation,  wandering 
amid  the  island  groves,  reclining  under  giant  ferns  or  lofty 
pines,  bathing  in  crystal  founts  or  clear-hued  seas  at  dawn 
or  under  the  yellow  moon.  Passing  contentedly  from 
youth  to  middle  age,  from  that  half-way  stage  to  a  later 
span  of  life,  which  in  this  enchanted  land  implied  little  or 
no  diminution  of  natural  powers.     Should  it  be  so  ? 

This  question  I  had  asked  Miranda  more  than  once. 
But  she  would  not  consent  to  take  it  seriously.  One  day, 
however,  I  compelled  her  to  listen,  thougli  she  had  again 
declared  that  we  were  so  happy  as  we  were  that  no  change 
could  be  for  the  better,  possibly  for  the  worse  —  even. 

"  Then,  Miranda,"  I  answered,  "  I  must  leave  the  island. 
Did  we  not  hear  from  the  last  whaler  that  called  in  for 
fresh  provisions  that  my  old  friend  —  the  friend  of  the 
family.  Captain  Carryall,  was  to  touch  here  in  the  Flor- 
entia?"     He  was  the  best  known,  the  most  popular  of  all 


NORFOLK   ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  251 

the  skippers  next  to  Captain  Hayston.  Unlike  him,  liow- 
ever,  his  reputation  was  spotless,  while  for  fair  dealing  and 
adheren(!e  to  his  promises  his  fame  was  proverbial.  "  Shall 
I  go  with  him  ?  "  I  said,  "  and  must  I  go  alone  ?  " 

"And  would  you  leave  me?"  she  asked,  imploringly  — 
her  dark  eyes  turned  towards  my  face  in  a  passion  of 
reproachful  tenderness,  of  which  she  herself  scarce  under- 
stood the  meaning,  "  Oh !  I  thought  once  that  I  could  let 
you  go,  though  it  has  been  life  and  happiness  untold  hav- 
ing you  to  talk  to  and  read  with.  I  fancied  I  should  only 
mourn  for  you  for  a  while  —  like  the  other  island  girls  who 
weep  and  lament,  and  then  dry  their  tears  and  dance  and 
sing  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  But,  oh !  It  is  not  so 
with  me.  They  always  say  the  Fletcher-Christians  are 
different.     I  shall  die !     I  shall  die  !     I  know  I  shall." 

And  with  that  she  cast  herself  on  ray  neck,  sobbing  as 
though  her  heart  would  break.  In  the  same  breatli  declar- 
ing that  she  would  never  consent  to  spoil  my  life  by  mar- 
riage with  a  poor  savage  island  girl,  but  a  few  degrees 
superior  to  the  women  of  Pingelap  and  Ocean  Island  whom 
she  had  so  often  despised. 

By  degrees  I  persuaded  her  to  listen  to  my  pleadings, 
and  then  calmly  set  before  her  my  plans  for  the  future. 
We  must  be  married  here,  and  after  remaining  on  the 
island,  living  the  idyllic  life  we  were  revelling  in  now,  we 
would  sail  for  Sydney  in  the  Florentia,  or  some  other  vessel, 
and  there  begin  life  in  earnest.  Some  employment  would 
be  found,  doubtless,  which  would  pave  the  way,  by  which 
I  might  make  a  serious  effort  towards  a  career,  perhaps 
a  competency  in  the  future,  or  even  a  fortune. 

I  had  but  little  difficulty  in  carrying  out  my  plan.  The 
elders  of  the  community,  the  relations  and  friends  of 
Miranda,  were  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  her  marriage 
with  a  person  of  my  position,  who  might  also  be  enabled 
to  do  them  many  a  good  turn  if  I  settled  in  Sydney,  a  port 


252  A   MODEEN    BUCCANEER 

with  which  they  had  close  business  relations.  I  foim<l,  too, 
that  I  was  not  altogether  an  unknown  personage.  Some 
of  the  young  men  who  had  made  voyages  in  whaleshij^s 
had  heard  of  my  companionship  with  Captain  Hayston. 
However,  it  would  seem  that  all  the  natives  whom  they 
had  met  had  given  a  good  account  of  me  as  a  fair  dealer, 
and,  moreover,  generous  in  my  treatment  of  them, —  an 
apparently  unimportant  matter  at  the  time,  but  serious 
enough  now.  Miranda  told  me  afterwards,  that  had  it 
been  otherwise  nothing  would  have  induced  her  guardians 
to  give  their  consent,  or  her  to  defy  their  decision. 

As  it  was,  however,  all  seemed  couleur  de  rose.  No  great 
preparations  were  needed.  The  simple  island  fashion  was 
not  encumbered  with  any  great  multiplication  of  garments. 
On  the  happy  day  Miranda  was  escorted  to  the  modest 
building  which  did  duty  for  a  church  by  a  band  of  white- 
robed  maidens,  in  whose  dark  hair  was  wreathed  the  crim- 
son blossoms  of  the  coral  plant  and  the  hibiscus,  with  little 
other  adornment  but  nature's  furnishing  in  the  flower-time 
of  life.  My  comrades  were  selected  from  the  younger  men 
of  the  island,  among  whom  I  had  always  taken  care  to  stand 
well,  joining  in  their  sports,  and  entering  as  an  equal  com- 
petitor their  athletic  contests.  I  was  therefore  looked 
upon  as  a  most  desirable  acquaintance,  able  to  hold  my 
own,  moreover,  in  all  manly  accomplishments  (except 
swimming),  and  much  esteemed  for  a  gift  of  relating 
adventures  in  strange  lands,  and  describing  the  foreign 
manners  and  customs  with  which  a  roving  life  had  made 
me  familiar. 

It  might  have  been  imagined  that  a  girl  so  singularly 
gifted  and  attractive  as  Miranda  would  have  had  lovers  in 
abundance,  by  whom  a  successful  aspirant  like  myself  would 
be  regarded  with  jealousy.  Unlikely  as  it  may  appear  I 
observed  no  feeling  of  this  kind.  In  that  strange  society, 
the  passions  which  rage  so  fiercely  in  more  civilised  com- 


NORFOLK    ISLAND  —  ARCADIA  253 

munities  appeared  to  have  lost  their  force,  or  to  flow  witli 
the  peaceful  motion  of  the  incoming  tide  rather  than  the 
resistless    rush   of   a   mountain   torrent,  which  love,  hate, 
jealousy,  and  envy  in  other  hinds  so  often  resemble.     The 
young  men  admired  Miranda,  indeed,  worshipped  her  from 
afar.     But  they  seemed  rather  elated  by  her  good  fortune, 
as  it  so  api)eared  to  them,   than  enviously  disposed,   and 
had  no  thought  of  other  than  the  warmest  friendship  for 
their  more  fortunate  companion.     Even  Fletcher   Quintal, 
who  might  have    beeu   expected   to  view  with    dislike,    if 
not  a  stronger  sensation,  my  marriage  with  his    favourite 
cousin,  had  apparently  no  feeling   of   this    sort.     He   cer- 
tainly expressed  none,  but  congratulated  me  with  all  the 
warmth  which   a  brother   might   be  supposed   to   exhibit 
at  the  marriage  of   his  best  loved  sister  with  his  dearest 
friend.     Truly  it  ivas  the  long  lost  rediscovered   Arcadia. 
There   were   moments    when    I   doubted    whether    it    was 
wise  to   leave   a  land   where   care    was   unknown ;    where 
want,  with  its  attendant  evils,  had  never  been  heard  of; 
where  there  were  no  rich  men  to  envy  ;    no   bad  ones  to 
fear ;  no  poor  to  despise ;  where  no  one  died   but   of  old 
age  or  mishap;  whence  all  the  ills  that  flesh   is   heir   to 
had,  like  the  snakes  of  Ireland,  been   banished   by   some 
good  genius,  and  only   the   gifts   of   virtue,    contentment, 
and  regulated  industry  remained.     But  there  was  wild  blood 
in  my  veins,  long  dormant  as  it  had  lain.     The  murmur  of 
the  ocean  seemed  to  call  me  with  a  tone  of  magical  power. 
I  longed  for  the  wave-music  once  more  —  for  the  voyage 
which  was  to  speed  me  to  my  birthland.     I  hurried  on  the 
preparations  for  our  wedding,  and,  lingering  though  were 
all  the  slow  sweet  hours,  endless  the  days,  almost  tedious 
the  soft  starlight  glow  of  the  summer  nights,  the  day  of 
days  at  last  dawned  that  was  to  herald  the  happiness  of  a 
life-time. 

********* 


254  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Our  small  domain  liad  been  carefully  measured  and 
marked  out  for  us.  A  cottage  had  been  built,  thatched 
with  palm  leaves,  floored  with  the  soft  mats  of  the  island, 
simply  furnished,  and,  as  it  happened,  near  to  a  bubbling 
spring,  and  shaded  by  the  wondrous  wild  orange,  which 
here  grows  almost  to  the  height  and  girth  of  a  forest  tree. 
It  happened  to  be  the  flower-time  of  these  charming  fruit 
bearers,  so  that  wreaths  and  garlands  of  the  blossom  sacred 
to  Hymen  were  plentiful  and  profuse. 


CHAPTER  XV 

EPITHALAMIUM 

Our  marriage  day !  Uh,  day  of  days  !  Dawn  of  a  new 
existence  !  All  nature  seemed  to  sympathise  Avith  us  in 
our  supernal  joy.  For  us,  for  us  alone  in  all  tlie  world  the 
streamlets  murmured,  the  breezes  whispered  together,  the 
wavelets  plashed  musically,  the  blue  sky  glowed,  the  sim 
shone  goldingly.  The  venerable  pastor  of  the  community 
—  he  who  had  watched  over  every  man  and  woman  present 
from  infancy,  who  had  christened,  and  married,  and  buried 
the  whole  population  of  the  island  as  they  require  these 
offices  —  read  the  time-honoured  service  of  the  Church  of 
England,  which  was  followed  with  deepest  reverential 
attention  by  all  present.  When  he  blessed  our  union  in 
the  solemn  language  of  the  ritual  familiar  to  me  in  the 
days  of  my  childhood,  every  head  was  bowed,  each  woman's 
eye  was  wet  with  heart-felt  sympathy  and  warmest  affec- 
tion for  their  erst-while  playmate. 

The  day  was  cloudless,  a  breeze  at  times  sighed  through 
the  fragrant  foliage  of  the  grove  wherein  the  little  church 
had  been  built.  The  wavelets  murmured  on  the  beach, 
and  the  unresting  surges  seemed  but  to  exchange  loving 
memories  of  coral  islands  and  crystal  seas,  of  waving  palms 
and  the  green  gladness  of  tropic  forests,  of  maidens, 
feather-crowned  and  flower-bejewelled,  dancing  on  silver 
strands  beneath  the  full-orbed  midnight  moon,  or  gliding, 
a  laughing  bevy  of  syrens,  beneath  the  translucent  wave. 
No  sullen,  dirge-like  refrain  on  that  paradisal  day  brought 

255 


256  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

from  the  ocean  voices  the  memory  of  drifting  wrecks,  of 
stormy  seas,  of  drowned  seamen  —  no  hint  of  danger,  of 
despair,  of  pestilence,  and  death  ;  and  yet  all  these  phases 
of  experience  I  had  known  and  reckoned  with  even  in  n\j 
short  life. 

No ;  these  and  kindred  ills  were  forgotten,  banished  from 
earth  and  sea.  On  this  blissful  morn  the  golden  age  of  the 
earth  seemed  to  have  returned.  Recalling  the  half-forgotten 
classics  of  my  boyhood,  I  could  fancy  that  I  saw  fauns 
peeping  through  the  leaves  of  the  orange  grove,  that  the 
ages  had  reverted  to  the  freshness  of  the  elder  world,  when 
the  flush  of  the  fair  Arcadian  life  informed  all  things  with 
divinity. 

And  Miranda,  my  bride  of  brides !  what  words  can 
describe  her  as  she  stood,  with  an  expression  half-timid, 
half-rapt,  and  inspired,  before  the  humble  altar  that  day  ? 
Her  simple  dress  of  virgin  white  which  but  slightly  con- 
cealed while  it  outlined  the  curves  of  her  statuesque  form ; 
her  large  dark  eyes,  which  had  often  appeared  to  me  to 
hold  a  shade  of  melancholy,  were  now  irradiated  by  the 
love-light  which  she,  in  the  purity  and  innocence  of  her 
heart,  made  no  attempt  to  conceal.  Her  soft,  abundant 
tresses  had  been  gathered  up  into  becoming  form  and 
classic  simplicity,  and,  save  a  wreath  of  scarlet  berries  and 
the  traditional  orange  blossom,  she  wore  no  ornament. 
As  all  unconscious  of  her  maiden  loveliness  she  stood  beside 
me,  with  her  head  raised  and  an  expectant  smile  which 
disclosed  her  pearly  teeth,  she  seemed  to  my  enraptured 
gaze  a  daughter  of  the  wave,  —  no  mortal  maiden,  but 
a  being  compact  of  air  and  sea  and  sky,  visible  but  beneath 
the  moonbeams,  and  unrevealed  to  the  dwellers  of  the  garish 
day. 

TT  "TV"  -TT  -TT  -Tt"  ■TT  TT  TT 

We  had  been  but  a  month  wedded ;  our  simple  home,  our 
tiny  domain,  our  forest  rambles,  ouv  sea-baths  at  dawn  and 


EPITHALAMIUM  257 

eve,  as  yet  contented  us  —  filled  us  with  all  fullest  delight 
in  which  mortal  beings  can  revel  beneath  this  ethereal 
dome.  And  yet  the  spirit  of  unrest,  the  veritable  serpent 
of  the  world's  fairest  Aidenns,  gradvially  found  means  to 
discover  himself. 

Miranda  and  I  had,  indeed,  begun  to  discuss  our  pro- 
jected voyage  to  Sydney,  and  I  had  many  times  described 
to  her  an  ideal  home  on  one  of  the  thousand  and  one  bays 
which  render  the  northern  shore  of  the  unrivalled  Sydney 
harbour  matchless  in  beauty  and  convenience  for  those 
who,  like  myself,  have  salt  water  in  their  blood.  She 
agreed  with  me,  that  with  a  boat,  a  garden,  a  bath-house, 
and  a  cottage  built  of  the  beautiful  white,  pink-veined  sand- 
stone, which  is  so  abundant  beneath  and  around  Sydney, 
existence  might  be  endured  away  from  her  island  home,  • 
with  the  aid  of  books  and  the  inspiring  idea  of  the  coming 
fortune. 

"And  even  if  we  do  not  make  money,"  she  said,  "as 
people  call  it — what  a  strange  idea  it  seems  to  me,  who 
have  hardly  ever  seen  any  —  we  shall  be  happy.  I  can't 
imagine  people  who  are  married  and  love  each  other  ever 
being  unhappw  Then  your  mother  and  sisters  —  I  am  so 
much  afraid  of  them.  They  will  regard  me  as  a  kind  of 
savage,  I  am  sure ;  and,  indeed,  compared  with  them,  or 
real  civilised  people,  I  am  afraid  that  I  shall  feel  like  one. 
And,  oh!  shall  we  ever  be  happier  than  we  are  now? 
Why  should  we  change  ?  Do  you  think  we  can  come  back 
now  and  then  and  visit  my  people  ?  I  should  break  my 
heart  if  I  thought  I  should  see  them  no  more ! " 

I  promised  this  and  other  things,  doubtless,  at  the  time. 
But  before  we  had  completed  the  conversation  about  our 
future  life  —  which  indeed  supplied  us  with  endless  sub- 
jects of  interest  —  the  great  island  wonder-sign  appeared. 
A  shout  —  a  rush  of  excited  people  past  our  hut  told  of  a 
ship  in  sight.     We  were  down  at  the  beach  nearly  as  soon 


258  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

as  tlie  others,  and  as  a  long,  low  barque  came  up  before  the 
wind,  something  told  me  that  she  was  the  Florentia. 

A  boat  —  a  whaleboat,  with  a  kanaka  crew  —  put  off  soon 
after  she  was  at  anchor,  and  in  the  tall  man  at  the  steer- 
oar,  whose  commanding  figure,  even  at  that  distance,  I 
seemed  to  know,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  identifying  our 
old  friend  Captain  Carryall. 

Directly  he  jumped  ashore,  a  dozen  of  the  islanders 
dashed  into  the  surf  and  ran  the  boat  up  on  the  beach. 
Our  recognition  was  mutual. 

"  Well,  young  fellow ! "  he  said,  "  I've  been  hunting  you 
up  half  over  the  South  Seas.  Wherever  have  you  stowed 
yourself  all  this  time  ?  Why,  what  a  man  you've  grown  — 
a  couple  of  inches  taller  than  me,  and  I'm  no  pony.  Brown 
as  a  berry,  too !  You'll  have  to  come  home  with  me  this 
trip.  Your  old  man's  beginning  to  get  anxious  about  you 
—  and  you  know  he's  not  much  in  that  line  — and  your 
mother  and  sisters." 

" Captain  Carryall,"  I  said,  "there's  no  necessity  for  more 
reasons.  I'm  going  to  Sydney  with  you  if  you'll  give  me  a 
passage." 

"  Half  a  dozen  if  you  want  it,"  quoth  the  jolly  sailor. 
"  And  now  I  must  have  a  word  with  my  friends.  Anybody 
been  married  since  I  was  here  last ;  no  Quintals  —  no 
Millses  !  Mary,  how 's  this  ?  Dorcas  —  Grace  —  Mercy 
Young,  I'm  ashamed  of  you.  And  Miranda !  Nobody  run 
away  with  you  yet  ?  I  see  I  must  take  you  to  Sydney  and 
show  you  at  a  Government  House  ball.  Then  they'd  see 
what  a  Pitcairn  girl  was  like." 

"  You  may  do  that  yet,"  I  said,  "  for,  seriously,  Miranda 
is  now  Mrs.  Hilary  Telfer.  We  have  been  married  more 
than  a  month." 

The  captain  could  not  refrain  from  giving  a  prolonged 
whistle  at  this  announcement,  which  certainly  appeared  to 
take  him  by  surprise.     However,  he  rallied  with  ease  and 


y 


EPITHALAMIIJM  259 

celerity,  and  addressing  Miranda,  whose  hand  he  took  as  he 
spoke,  said,  ''  My  dear !  let  me  congratulate  the  son  of  my 
old  friend.  Captain  Telfer,  upon  his  marriage  with  the  best, 
cleverest,  and  prettiest  girl  I  have  fallen  across  in  all  my 
wanderings.  I  don't  suppose  you  have  any  great  amount  of 
capital  to  begin  life  with ;  but  if  two  young  people  like  you 
don't  manage  to  find  some  path  to  fortune  in  a  country  like 
Australia,  I'm  a  Dutchman.  He  needs  to  be  a  good  fellow, 
and  a  man  all  round,  to  be  worthy  of  Miranda  Christian ; 
but  he  can't  help,  as  the  son  of  his  father  and  his  mother, 
being  all  that,  and  more.  So  now,  my  dear !  you  must  let 
me  kiss  you,  as  your  husband's  old  friend,  and  wish  you  all 
happiness." 

Miranda  blushed  as  the  warm-hearted  fellow  folded  her 
in  his  arms,  but  submitted  with  becoming  grace ;  and  leav- 
ing her  among  her  young  friends,  he  and  I  strolled  away 
towards  our  hut  to  talk  over  affairs  more  at  leisure. 

"  Well,  youngster ! "  said  he,  laying  his  hand  on  my 
shoulder,  "  I  suppose  you've  had  enough  island  life  for  a 
while,  and  won't  be  sorry  to  see  Sydney  Heads  again.  Nor 
I  either.  I've  been  out  fifteen  months  this  time,  and  that's 
rather  long  to  be  away  from  one's  home  and  picaninnies. 
They'll  be  glad  to  see  your  face  again  at  Rose  Bay,  I'll  be 
bound.  But  they  certainly  will  be  taken  aback  when  you 
turn  up  as  a  married  man.  Nineteen  times  out  of  twenty 
it's  a  mistake  to  tie  one's  self  up  for  life  at  your  age.  But 
all  depends  upon  getting  the  right  Avoman,  and  Miranda  is 
the  one  woman  in  a  thousand  that  a  man  might  be  proud  to 
marry,  whether  he  was  rich  or  poor,  and  to  work  and  wear 
out  his  life  for  all  his  days.  I've  known  her  since  she  was 
a  baby,  and,  taking  her  all  round,  I  don't  know  her  equal 
anywhere.  It  seems  queer  to  say  so,  considering  her  birth 
and  bringing  up.  But  these  Pitcairners  are  well  known  to 
be  the  best  and  finest  women,  in  all  womanly  ways,  that 
the  world  can  show.  And  your  wife  is,  and  has  always 
been,  the  flower  of  the  flock." 


260  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

I  grasped  the  captain's  hand.  I  knew  that  I  had  secured 
a  powerful  ally ;  and  though  I  felt  so  secure  in  the  wisdom 
of  my  choice  that  no  disapprobation  of  family  and  friends 
would  have  had  power  to  affect  me,  yet,  in  such  matters,  it 
is  well  to  have  a  friend  at  court,  and  the  captain's  reputa- 
tion for  sense  and  sagacity  stood  so  high,  that  I  felt  not 
only  my  relatives,  but  my  acquaintances  and  friends,  would 
be  strougly  swayed  by  his  judgment. 

"  Now  that  we've  got  so  far,"  he  said,  "  you  had  better 
make  your  arrangements  to  sail  with  me  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing ;  this  is  Thursday,  but  my  passengers  want  to  see  the 
island  and  the  people  of  whom  they  have  heard  so  much." 

"  Passengers ! "  I  said.     "  How  many  ?  and  where  from  ?  " 

"Well,  I  picked  them  up  at  Honolulu.  Half  a  dozen, 
and  very  nice  people,  too.  They  came  in  an  English  yacht 
that  went  to  San  Francisco  for  them,  and  they  wanted  to 
see  Australia,  and  so  came  with  me.  They're  rather  big 
people  at  home,  I  believe,  though  they're  very  quiet,  and 
give  themselves  no  airs." 

"  Any  ladies  ?  " 

"  There  are  two  married  couples,  and  a  young  lady,  with 
her  brother." 

"  That's  very  serious,  captain,"  said  I.  "  I  don't  quite 
know  how  Miranda  will  get  on  with  travelling  English- 
women —  they're  rather  difficult  sometimes." 

"  Miranda  will  get  on  with  any  one,"  answered  the  cap- 
tain, with  a  decided  air.  "  She  will  sit  on  my  right  hand, 
as  a  bride,  and  no  one  in  my  ship  will  show  her  less  than 
proper  respect.  Anyhow,  these  people  are  not  that  sort. 
You'll  see  she's  all  ready  to  start  on  Sunday  morning. 
'  The  better  the  day,  the  better  the  deed.'  " 

So  the  captain  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  people  of  the 
settlement,  among  whom  his  free,  pleasant  manner  and 
generous  bearing  had  made  him  most  popular.  The  girls 
crowded  around  him,  laughing  and  plying  him  with  ques- 


EPITHALAMIUM  261 

tions  about  the  commissions  he  had  promised,  to  execute  for 
them,  and  the  presents  he  had  brought.  These  attentions 
he  never  omitted.  Full  of  curiosity  they  were,  too,  about 
the  English  ladies  on  board.  "  How  they  were  dressed  ?  '' 
"How  long  they  would  stay  in  Sydney?"  "What  they 
would  think  of  the  poor  Pitcairn  girls  ?  "  and  so  on. 

AVitli  the  elders  he  told  of  the  whaleships  he  had  spoken, 
and  of  their  cargoes  of  oil  —  of  the  Quintals,  or  Youngs, 
Mills,  or  M'Coys  who  were  harpooners  and  boat-steerers 
on  board  some  of  the  Sydney  whalers,  and  of  the  chances 
of  their  "lay"  or  share  of  profit  being  a  good  one.  Besides 
all  this,  the  captain  consented  to  act  as  their  ambassador 
to  the  Governor-General  in  Sydney,  and  lay  before  that 
potentate  certain  defects  of  their  island  administration  — 
small,  perhaps,  in  themselves,  but  highly  important  to  the 
members  of  an  isolated  community.  In  addition  to  all 
this,  he  (as  I  heard  afterwards)  specially  attended  to  my 
marriage  with  Miranda,  of  which  he  highl}^  approved ;  tell- 
ing the  old  pastor  and  the  elders  of  the  community  that  he 
had  known  my  father  for  ever  so  many  years ;  that  he  was 
highly  respected  now,  when  retired,  but  had  been  well 
known  in  the  South  Seas  and  New  Zealand  many  years 
ago  as  the  captain  of  the  Orpheus,  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful whalers  that  ever  sailed  through  Sydney  Heads. 

"  Captain  Telfer  of  the  Orpheus!'^  said  one  of  the  oldest 
men  of  the  group,  "I  remember  him  well.  I  was  cast  away 
on  Easter  Island  the  time  the  Harriet  was  wrecked  in  a 
hurricane.  He  gave  me  a  free  passage  to  Tahiti,  a  suit  of 
clothes,  and  ten  dollars  when  I  left  the  ship.  He  wanted 
me  to  finish  the  voyage  with  him  and  go  to  Sydney.  I  was 
sorry  afterwards  I  didn't.  He  was  a  fine  man,  and  a  better 
seaman  never  trod  plank.  No  wonder  Hilary  is  such  a  tine 
chap.  I  can  see  the  likeness  now.  I  don't  hold  with  our 
young  women  going  off  this  island  in  a  general  way,  but 
Miranda  is  a  lucky  girl  to  have  Captain  Telfer's  son  for  a 


262  A   IMODERN   BUCCANEER 

husband."     All  this  the  captain  told  me  afterwards  with 
slight  embellishments  and  variations  of  his  own. 

My  reputation  had  fairly  gone  before,  but  this  light 
thrown  on  my  parentage  placed  me  in  a  most  exalted  posi- 
tion—  next  to  their  spiritual  pastor  and  master,  before 
whom  they  bowed  in  genuine  respect  and  reverence.  Per- 
haps there  is  no  man  in  the  whole  world  more  honoured 
and  admired  in  the  South  Seas  than  the  captain  of  a  ship. 
And  now  that  the  name  of  my  father's  barque,  once  jiretty 
well  known  south  of  the  line,  liad  been  recalled  from  the 
past,  every  doubt  as  to  the  future  of  Miranda  and  myself 
was  set  at  rest. 

We  were  invested,  so  to  speak,  with  the  blessing  of  the 
whole  community,  and  began  our  modest  preparations  with 
added  cheerfulness  and  resolve. 

In  the  afternoon  we  saw  a  boat  put  off  from  the  Floren- 
tia  and  the  visitors  land.  Tiiey  were  five  in  number.  We 
could  see  them  walk  over  to  the  village,  where  they  were 
met  by  some  of  the  principal  people  and  a  few  of  the  women 
and  girls.  We  had  been  making  ready  for  our  voyage,  and 
having  finished  our  simple  meal,  sat  in  the  shade  of  our 
orange  tree,  near  the  door,  and  awaited  the  strangers  whom 
I  judged  rightly  that  curiosity  and  the  captain  would  bring 
to  our  dwelling. 

In  less  than  an  hour's  time  we  saw  them  strolling  alonir 
the  path  which  led  to  our  nest.  As  they  approached  we 
arose  and  went  to  meet  them,  when  the  captain  with  all 
due  form  introduced  us,  ''The  Honourable  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Craven,  Colonel  Percival,  Mr.  Vavasour,  and  his  sister,  Miss 
Vavasour."  Mrs.  Percival  had  remained  on  board,  as  her 
little  boy  of  four  or  five  years  old  was  not  well.  Miranda, 
rather  to  my  surprise,  was  perfectly  unembarrassed,  and 
talked  away  to  the  stranger  ladies  as  if  she  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  the  society  business  all  her  life. 

I  could  see  that  they  were  pleased  and  surprised  at  her 


EPITHALAMIUM  263 

appearance,  as  also  gratified  with  the  manner  in  which  she 
invited  them  to  inspect  our  simple  dwelling. 

"  Oh !  what  a  charming  nest  of  a  place  —  quite  a  bower  of 
bliss  !  "  cried  Miss  Vavasour.  "  I  declare  I  will  come  here 
when  I  am  married  and  spend  my  honeymoon.  What  sliade 
and  fragrance  combined  !  What  a  lovely  crystal  lakelet  to 
bathe  in!  and  I  suppose,  Mrs.  Telfer,  you  go  out  fishing  in 
that  dear  canoe  ?     What  an  ideal  life  !  " 

"I  quite  agree  with  you  and  feel  quite  envious,"  said 
Mrs.  Craven.  "  Charlie  and  I  have  been  married  too  long 
to  have  our  honeymoon  over  again ;  but  it  would  have  been 
idyllic,  wouldn't  it,  Charlie  ?  " 

"Splendid  place  to  smoke  in,"  assented  her  husband. 
"  No  hounds  meet  nearer  than  Sydney,  though,  I  presume. 
Drawback  rather,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"You  men  are  always  thinking  of  horses,  and  hounds  or 
guns,"  pouted  Miss  Vavasour.  "  What  can  one  want  with 
them  here?  What  can  life  offer  more  than  this  endless 
summer,  this  fairy  bower,  this  crystal  wave,  this  air  which 
is  a  living  perfume  ?     It  is  an  earthly  paradise." 

"  And  the  beloved  object,"  added  Mrs.  Craven,  with  quiet 
humour.  "You  have  left  him  out.  It  would  be  an  incom- 
plete paradise  without  Adam." 

"  Oh !  here  he  comes  ! "  exclaimed  Miranda  (as  she  told 
me  afterwards),  who  had  not  been  attending  to  the  enthu- 
siastic speech,  but  was  watching  bird-like  for  my  approach. 

"Who  ?     Adam  ?  "  said  Miss  Vavasour,  laughingly. 

"  Oh,  no  !  "  answered  she,  smiling  at  the  apparent  absur- 
dity. "  You  must  excuse  me  a  little,  but  I  was  looking  out 
for  Hilary." 

"  Now,  then,  ladies  ! "  said  the  cheerful  voice  of  Captain 
Carryall,  "we  must  get  back  to  our  boat.  It's  dangerous 
to  stop  ashore  all  night,  isn't  it,  Miranda  ?  We  must  leave 
you  to  finish  your  packing.  It's  a  long  voyage  to  Sydney, 
eh  ?     It  may  be  years  before  you  see  the  island  again." 


264  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

We  all  went  down  together  to  the  boat,  where  the  visitors 
were  seen  off  by  all  the  young  people  of  the  island,  the 
girls  wondering  with  respectful  admiration  at  the  English 
ladies'  dresses,  hats,  boots,  and  shoes  —  in  fact,  at  every- 
thing they  did  and  said  as  well.  It  was  a  revelation  to 
them,  not  that  they  had  any  envious  feeling  about  those 
cherished  possessions.  They  had  been  too  well  trained 
for  that,  and  were  secure  in  the  guidance  of  their  deeply- 
rooted  religious  faith  and  lofty  moral  code.  On  the  other 
hand,  their  visitors  admired  sincerely  the  noble  forms  and 
free,  graceful  bearing  of  the  island  maidens,  as  well  as  the 
splendid  athletic  development  of  the  men. 

''  Here,  you  Thursday  Quintal,  come  and  show  these 
ladies  how  you  can  handle  a  steer-oar,"  called  out  the  cap- 
tain. "  He  was  the  boat-steerer  on  board  the  Florentia  one 
voyage,  and  steered  in  the  pulling  race  for  whaleboats  at 
the  regatta  on  anniversary  day,  which  we  won  the  year 
before  last  in  Sydney  harbour.  We'll  bring  you  ashore  in 
the  morning." 

''Ay,  ay,  captain,"  said  the  young  fellow,  showing  his 
splendid  teeth  in  a  pleasant  smile.  "  It  will  feel  quite 
natural  to  take  an  oar  in  a  boat  of  yours  again." 

The  wind  had  freshened  during  the  afternoon,  and  the 
rollers  on  the  beach  lifted  the  whaleboat  as  she  came  up  to 
the  landing  rather  higher  than  the  ladies  fancied.  How- 
ever, they  were  carefully  seated,  and  at  the  captain's  word, 
"  Give  way,  my  lads,"  the  crew  picked  her  up  in  great  style, 
while  Quintal,  standing  with  easy  grace  at  the  stern,  the 
sixteen  foot  oar  in  his  strong  grasp,  directed  her  course 
with  instinctive  skill  so  as  to  avoid  the  growing  force  of 
the  wave.  As  he  stood  there  —  tall,  muscular,  glorious  in 
the  grace  and  dignity  of  early  manhood  —  he  seemed  the 
embodiment  of  a  sculptor's  dream. 

"What  a  magnificent  figure  !  "  said  Mrs.  Craven  to  her 
young  friend.  "  How  rare  it  is  to  see  such  a  form  in  May- 
fair  ! " 


EPITHALAMIUM  265 

"I  surmise,  as  our  American  girl  said  at  Honolulu," 
replied  Miss  Vavasour,  "  that  you  might  look  a  long  time 
before  you  saw  such  a  man  among  our  '  Johnnies  ' ;  and 
what  eyes  and  teeth  he  has !  lieally  1  feel  inclined  to 
rebel.  Here's  this  Mr.  Telfer,  too,  and  what  a  grand-look- 
ing fellow  he  is,  and  an  English  gentleman  besides  in  all 
his  ways.  He  can  make  his  way  to  this  out  of  the  way 
speck  in  the  ocean,  and  secure  a  Miranda  for  a  life  com- 
panion —  glorious  girl  she  is  too  —  wliile  we  poor  Euglish 
spins  have  to  wait  till  a  passable  pretendu  comes  along,  — 
old,  bald,  stupid,  or  diminutive,. as  the  case  may  be,  — and 
are  bound  to  take  him  under  penalty  of  dying  old  maids. 
I  call  it  rank  injustice,  and  I'd  head  a  revolution  tomorrow ; 
and  oh !  —  " 

The  interjection  which  closed  the  speech  of  this  ardent 
woman's  righter  was  caused  by  the  onward  course  of  a 
breaking  wave,  which  was  not  avoided  so  deftly  as  usual, 
and  splashed  the  speaker  and  Mrs.  Craven. 

"  Hulloa  !  Quintal,  what  are  you  about  ?  "  said  the  captain, 
"  is  this  your  steering  that  I've  been  blowing  about  to  these 
ladies  and  gentlemen  ?  Miss  Vavasour !  I'm  afraid  it's 
your  'fault,  you  know  the  rule  aboard  ship  ?  Passengers  are 
requested  not  to  speak  to  the  man  at  the  wheel." 

"  But  there's  no  regulation,  captain,  that  the  man  at  the 
steer-oar  is  not  to  look  at  the  passengers,"  said  Mrs.  Craven. 
"  However,  here  we  are  nearly  on  board,  so  there's  no  harm 
done,  and  we're  only  a  trifle  damped." 

********* 

Clear-hued  —  calm  —  waveless  —  dawned  our  farewell 
day.  I  was  glad  of  it.  Rain  and  storm-clouds  lower  the 
spirits  more  distinctly  when  one  is  about  to  make  a  depart- 
ure than  at  any  other  time,  besides  the  inconvenience  of 
wet  or  bedraggled  garments.  It  was  the  Sabbath  day,  and 
the  pastor  arranged  a  special  service  in  commemoration  of 


266  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Miranda's  marriage  and  departure  from  the  island.  All 
the  ship's  company  that  could  be  spared  came,  of  course; 
the  visitors  made  a  point  of  attending.  The  little  church 
was  crowded.  Except  the  youngest  children  and  their 
guardians,  every  soul  on  the  island  was  there. 

After  the  Church  of  England  service,  which  the  islanders 
had  at  their  fingers'  ends,  and  in  which  they  all  most 
reverently  joined,  hymns  were  sung,  in  which  the  rich 
voices  of  the  young  girls  were  heard  to  great  advantage. 
There  was  a  strange  and  subtle  harmony  pervading  the 
part-singing,  which  seemed  natural  to  the  race,  more  par- 
ticularly in  those  parts  in  which  the  whole  of  the  congrega- 
tion joined.  As  Miranda  played  on  the  harmonium,  it  may 
have  occurred  to  her  friends  and  playmates  for  the  last 
time,  many  of  them  could  not  restrain  their  tears.  The 
aged  pastor  after  the  Liturgy  preached  a  feeling  and  sympa- 
thetic address,  which  certainly  went  to  the  hearts  of  all 
present.  He  made  particular  allusion  to  our  union  and 
departure. 

"  One  of  the  children  of  the  island,"  he  said,  "  who  had 
endeared  herself  to  all  by  her  unselfish  kindness  of  heart, 
who  had  been  marked  out  by  uncommon  gifts,  both  mental 
and  physical,  was  to  leave  them  that  day.  She  might  be 
absent  for  years,  perhaps  they  might  not  see  her  face  again, 
—  that  face  upon  which  no  one  had  seen  a  frown,  nor  hear 
that  voice  which  had  never  uttered  an  unkind  word,"  here 
the  greater  part  of  the  congregation,  male  and  female,  fell 
a-weeping  and  lamenting  loudly.  "But  they  must  take 
comfort ;  our  beloved  one  was  not  departing  alone,  she  had 
been  joined  in  holy  matrimony  with  a  youth  of  whom  any 
damsel  might  feel  proud  ;  he  was  the  husband  of  her  choice, 
the  son  of  a  master  mariner  well  known  and  highly  re- 
spected in  former  years  throughout  the  wide  Pacific.  He 
himself  had  often  heard  of  him  in  old  days,  and  the  son  of 
such  a  father  was  worthy  to  be  loved  and  trusted.     The 


EPITHALAMIUM  267 

child  of  our  hearts  would  go  forth,  even  as  Rebecca  left 
her  home  and  her  people  with  Isaac,  and  God's  blessing 
would  surely  rest  upon  all  her  descendants  as  upon  the 
children  of  the  promise. 

'<He  would  ask  all  now  assembled  to  join  in  prayers  for 
the  welfare  of  Hilary  Telfer  and  Miranda,  his  wife." 

As  the  venerable  man  pronounced  the  words  of  the  bene- 
diction, echoed  audibly  by  the  whole  of  the  congregation, 
the  sobs  of  the  women  were  audible,  while  tears  and  stifled 
sighs  were  the  rule,  and  not  the  exception.  As  the  congre- 
gation rose  from  their  knees,  he  walked  down  to  the  Flor- 
entia's  boats,  it  having  been  so  arranged  by  the  captain,  who 
had  invited  all  who  could  by  any  means  attend,  to  lunch  on 
board  his  vessel.  Farewells  were  said  on  the  beach  to  all 
who  were  perforce  detained  by  age,  infirmity,  or  other 
causes,  and  at  length  we  were  safely  seated  in  the  captain's 
boat,  and  putting  off,  were  followed  by  a  perfect  fleet  of 
every  size  and  carrying  capacity. 

Miranda  hid  her  face  and  wept  silently.  I  did  not 
attempt  to  persuade  her  to  moderate  her  grief,  as  the  out- 
let of  over-strung  feelings,  of  genuine  and  passionate  regret, 
it  was  a  natural  and  healthful  safety-valve  for  an  overbur- 
dened heart. 

"I  don't  think  I  was  ever  more  impressed  with  our 
Church  service,"  said  Mrs.  Craven.  "  That  dear,  venerable 
old  man,  and  his  truly  wonderful  congregation !  How 
earnestly  they  listened,  and  how  reverently  they  behaved !  " 

''  Think  of  our  rustics  in  a  village  church ! "  said  Miss 
Vavasour,  "  the  conceited  choir,  the  sleeping  labourers,  the 
giggling  school  children,  where  do  you  ever  see  anything 
like  what  we  have  witnessed  to-day  ?  However  did  they 
manage  to  grow  up  so  blameless,  and  to  keep  so  good  and 
pure  minded  ?     Can  you  tell  me,  Mr.  Telfer  ?  " 

"  My  knowledge  of  my  wife's  people  is  chiefly  from  hear- 
say," I  said ;  "  I  can  remember  the  old  tale  of  the  Mutiny 


268  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

of  the  Bounty  when  I  was  a  school-boy  in  Sydney.  Captain 
Bligh,  of  the  ill-fated  ship,  was  afterwards  the  Governor 
of  New  South  Wales.  Whether  his  conduct  provoked  the 
mutiny,  of  which  Miranda's  great  grandfather  was  the 
leader,  or  whether  the  crew  were  overcome  by  the  tempta- 
tions of  a  life  in  that  second  garden  of  Eden,  Tahiti,  has 
been  disputed,  and  perhaps  can  never  be  definitely  known. 
This  much  is  certain,  that  the  sole  surviving  mutineer, 
John  Adams,  deeply  repentant,  changed  his  rule  of  life. 
Morning  and  evening  prayer  was  established,  and  a  system 
of  instruction  for  the  children  and  young  people  regularly 
carried  out.  Such  was  the  apparently  accidental  commence- 
ment of  the  religious  teaching  of  the  little  community  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century.  Some  of  the  results  you 
have  witnessed  to-day." 

"  It  certainly  is  the  most  wonderful  historiette  in  the 
whole  world,"  said  Miss  Vavasour,  who  had  listened  with 
deep  interest.  "  I  never  saw  so  many  nice  people  in  one 
place  before  —  all  good — all  kind  —  all  contented,  and  all 
happy.  It  makes  one  believe  in  the  millennium ;  I  must 
try  what  I  can  do  with  our  village  when  I  get  back  to 
Dorsetshire." 

"  You'll  have  your  work  cut  out  for  you,  Miss  Vavasour," 
said  Colonel  Percival.  "Fancy  the  old  poachers  and  the 
hardened  tramps,  the  beer-drinking  yokels  and  the  rough 
field-hands.     Work  of  years,  and  doubtful  then." 

"  Oh !  dear,  why  do  we  call  ourselves  civilised,  I  wonder  ?  " 
sighed  the  enthusiastic  damsel,  just  awakened  to  a  sense  of 
the  duties  of  property  in  correlation  with  the  "rights." 
"  I  really  believe  Englishmen  —  the  lower  classes,  of  course 
—  are  the  most  ill-mannered,  uncivilised  people  in  the 
world.  Look  at  those  dear  islanders,  how  polite  and  un- 
selfish they  are  in  their  behaviour  to  each  other,  and  to 
us !  It  makes  me  feel  ashamed  of  my  country.  Why,  even 
at  a  presentation  to  Her  Majesty  people  push,  and  crush, 


EPITHALAMIUM  269 

and  look  as  black  as  thunder  if  you  tread  on  their  absurd 
trains." 

"You  ought  to  come  out  and  join  the  Melanesian  ]\Iis- 
sion,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Craven.  "There  is  no  knowing, 
with  your  energy  and  convictions,  what  good  you  might  do." 

"  I  wish  I  could,"  said  the  girl  eagerly.  "  But  I'm  not 
good  enough,  I  wish  I  was.  If  I  felt  I  could  keep  up  my 
present  feelings  I'd  go  to-morrow.  But  I'm  selfish  and 
worldly-minded,  like  my  neighbours  in  Christendom.  It 
would  be  no  use.  I  should  only  spoil  my  own  life,  and  not 
mend  theirs." 

"  Such  has  been  the  confession  of  many  an  earnest  re- 
former, who  had  started  in  life  with  high  hopes  and  a 
scorn  of  consequences,"  said  Mr.  Vavasour  quietly;  "it  is 
by  far  the  most  common  result  of  heroic  self-sacrifice.  If 
we  did  not  occasionally  see  the  accomplished  fact,  as  in  this 
case,  we  might  well  despair." 

"And  this  was  an  accident  of  accidents,"  said  Miss 
Vavasour  sorrowfully.  "  No  missionary  society  sent  away 
the  pioneer  preachers  to  the  heathen  with  prayers,  and 
flags,  and  collections.  No,  here  is  the  grandest  feat  ever 
accomplished  in  the  world's  history.  The  most  religious, 
contented,  consistent  community  in  the  whole  world  evolved 
from  a  crew  of  runaway  sailors  and  a  few  poor  savage 
women !  Really  there  must  be  some  good  in  human  nature 
after  all,  reviled  and  insulted  as  it  is  by  all  the  extra  good 
people." 

The  Florentia  had  not  had  so  large  a  party  on  board  since 
the  last  successful  affair  in  Sydney  harbour.  That  one  in- 
cluded dancing,  which  did  not  enter  into  this  entertainment. 
Nothing,  however,  could  have  gone  off  better.  The  curi- 
osity of  the  young  women  about  the  ladies'  belongings  was 
amply  gratified,  and  the  luncheon  voted  the  very  best  one 
at  which  they  had  ever  been  entertained. 

A  mirthful  and  joyous  gathering  it  was.     The  visitors 


270  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

were  charmed  with  the  naturally  refined  and  courteous 
manners  of  the  guests.  And,  finally,  as  the  day  wore  on, 
and  the  breeze  from  the  land  promised  a  good  offing, 
Miranda  came  up  from  her  cabin,  to  which  she  had  elected 
to  retire,  and  bade  farewell  to  friends  and  kinsfolk,  who 
departed  in  their  boats,  much  less  saddened  of  mien  than 
they  had  been  in  the  morning. 

Once  more  at  sea.  The  Florentia,  though  a  whaler,  and 
not  ornamented  up  to  yachting  form,  was  yet  extremely 
neat  and  spotlessly  clean,  as  far  as  could  be  managed  by  a 
smart  and  energetic  captain.  She  was  a  fast  sailer,  and  as 
the  wind  off  the  land  freshened  at  sundown,  she  spread 
most  of  her  canvas  and  sped  before  the  breeze  after  a 
fashion  which  would  have  made  her  a  not  unworthy  com- 
rade of  the  Leonora. 

Miranda  had  retired  to  her  cabin.  Her  heart  was  too 
full  for  jesting  converse,  and  after  she  had  watched  the 
last  speck  of  her  loved  island  disappear  below  the  horizon, 
she  was  fain  to  go  below  to  hide  her  tears,  and  relieve  her 
feelings  by  unrestrained  indulgence  in  grief. 

For  my  part,  after  a  cheerful  dinner  in  the  cuddy,  I 
remained  long  on  deck,  pacing  up  and  down,  and  revolving 
in  my  mind  plans  for  our  future.  As  I  felt  the  accustomed 
sway  of  the  vessel,  listened  to  the  creaking  of  the  rigging, 
which  was  music  in  my  ears,  and  watched  the  waves  fall 
back  from  her  sides  in  hissing  foam-tiakes,  as  the  aroused 
vessel,  feeling  the  force  of  the  rising  gale,  drove  through 
the  darkening  wave-masses,  and  seemed  to  defy  the  menace 
of  the  deep,  the  memories  of  my  early  island  life  came  back 
to  me.  The  luxurious,  halcyon  days,  the  starlit,  silent 
nights,  when  ofttimes  I  had  wandered  to  the  shore,  and 
seating  myself  on  a  coral  rock,  gazed  over  the  boundless 
watery  waste,  wondering  ever  about  my  career,  my  des- 
tined fate. 


EPITHALAMIUM  271 

Then  returned  the  strange  and  wayward!  memories  of 
Hayston  and  his  lawless  associates  —  the  reckless  traders, 
the  fierce  half-castes,  the  savage  islanders  !  Again  I  heard 
the  soft  voices  of  Lalia,  Nellie,  Kitty  of  Ebon,  and  smiled 
as  I  recalled  their  pleading,  infantine  ways,  their  flashing 
eyes,  so  eloquent  in  love  or  hate.  All  were  gone ;  all  had 
become  phantoms  of  the  past.  With  that  stage  and  season 
of  my  life  they  had  passed  away  —  irrevocably,  eternally  — 
and  now  I  possessed  an  incentive  to  labour,  ambition,  and 
self-denial  such  as  I  had  never  before  known.  With  such 
a  companion  as  Miranda,  where  was  the  man  who  would 
not  have  displayed  the  higher  qualities  of  his  nature,  who 
would  not  have  risen  to  the  supremest  effort  of  labour, 
valour,  or  self-abnegation  ?  Before  Heaven  I  vowed  that 
night,  that  neither  toil  nor  trouble,  difficulty  nor  danger, 
should  deter  me  from  the  pursuit  of  fortune  and  distinc- 
tion.    So  passed  our  first  day  at  sea. 

With  the  one  that  followed  the  gale  abated,  and  as  the 
Florentia  swept  southward  under  easy  sail,  comfort  was 
restored.  The  passengers  settled  themselves  down  to  the 
enjoyment  of  that  absolute  rest  and  passive  luxuriousness 
which  characterise  board-ship  life  in  fine  weather.  Miss 
Vavasour  and  Miranda  were  soon  deep  in  earnest  conversa- 
tion, both  for  the  time  disregarding  the  books  with  which 
they  had  furnished  themselves.  Mrs.  Craven  had  devoted 
herself  to  an  endless  task  of  knitting,  which  apparently 
supplied  a  substitute  for  thought,  reading,  recreation,  and 
conversation. 

I  was  talking  to  the  captain  when  a  lady  came  up  the 
companion,  followed  by  the  colonel,  who  half  lifted,  half 
led  a  fine  little  boy  of  four  or  five  years  of  age. 

"  Oh,"  said  the  captain,  with  a  sudden  movement  towards 
the  new  arrivals,  "  I  see  Mrs.  Percival  has  come  on  deck. 
Come  over  and  be  introduced."  We  walked  over,  and  I  re- 
ceived a  formal  bow  from  a  handsome,  pale  woman,  who 


272  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

had  evidently  been  sojourning  in  the  East.  There  is  a  cer- 
tain similarity  in  all  "  Indian  women,"  as  they  are  generally 
called,  which  extends  even  to  manner  and  expression.  Long 
residence  in  a  hot  climate  robs  them  of  their  roses,  while 
the  habit  of  command,  resulting  from  association  with  an 
inferior  race,  gives  them  a  tinge  of  hauteur  —  not  to  say 
unconscious  insolence  of  manner  —  which  is  scarcely  agree- 
able to  'those  who,  from  circumstances,  they  may  deem  to 
be  socially  inferior. 

So  it  was  that  Miranda,  in  spite  of  Miss  Vavasour's  nods 
and  signals,  received  but  the  faintest  recognition,  and  re- 
treated to  her  chair  somewhat  chilled  by  her  reception. 
She,  however,  took  no  apparent  notice  of  the  slight,  and 
was  soon  absorbed  in  conversation  with  Miss  Vavasour, 
her  brother,  and  Mrs.  Craven,  who  had  moved  up  her  chair 
to  join  the  party.  The  colonel  deserted  his  former  friends 
to  devote  himself  to  his  family  duties,  while  the  captain 
and  I  walked  forward  and  commenced  a  discussion  which 
had,  at  any  rate,  a  strong  personal  interest  for  me. 

"  Now  look  here,  Hilary,"  said  he,  as  he  lighted  a  fresh 
cigar.  He  had  been  smoking  on  the  quarter-deck  under 
protest,  as  it  were,  and  thus  commenced :  "  Listen  to  me, 
my  boy !  I've  been  thinking  seriously  about  you  and 
Miranda.  Your  start  in  life  when  you  get  to  Sydney  is 
important.  I  think  I  can  give  you  a  bit  of  advice  worth 
following.  You  understand  all  the  dialects  between  here 
and  the  Line  Islands,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  More  than  eight,"  I  answered  ;  "  I  can  talk  with  nearly 
every  islander  from  here  to  the  Gilberts.  I  have  learned 
so  much,  at  any  rate,  in  my  wanderings." 

"  And  a  very  good  thing,  too,  for  it's  not  a  thing  that  can 
be  picked  up  in  a  year,  no  matter  how  a  man  may  work, 
and  he's  useless  or  nearly  so  without  it ;  you  can  keep  ac- 
counts, write  well,  and  all  that  ?  " 

I  replied  that  I  had  a  number  of   peculiar  accounts  to 


BPITHALAMIUM  273 

keep  as  supercargo  to  the  Leonora,  as  well  as  all  Hayston's 
business  letters  to  write ;  that  my  office  books  were  always 
considered  neat,  complete,  and  well  kept.  Then  he  sud- 
denly said,  "  You  are  the  very  man  we  want ! " 

"Who  are  we,  and  what  is  the  man  wanted  for?"  I 
asked. 

"For  the  South  Sea  Island  trade,  and  no  other,"  said 
Captain  Carryall,  putting  his  hand  on  my  shoulder.  "Old 
Paul  Frankston  (you've  heard  of  him)  and  I  have  laid  it 
out  to  establish  a  regular  mercantile  house  in  Sydney  for 
the  development  of  the  island  trade.  The  old  man  Avill  back 
us,  and  the  name  of  Paul  Prankston  is  good  from  New  Zealand 
to  the  North  Pole  and  back  again.  I  will  do  the  whaling, 
cruising,  and  cargo  business  —  cocoa-nut  oil,  copra,  and  curios 
—  while  you  will  live  in  one  of  those  nice  white  houses 
at  North  Shore,  somewhere  about  Neutral  Bay,  where  you 
can  see  the  ships  come  through  the  Heads ;  Miranda  can 
have  a  skiff,  and  you  a  ten-tonner,  so  as  not  to  forget  your 
boating  and  your  sea-legs.    What  do  you  think  of  that,  eh  ?  " 

"It  is  a  splendid  idea!"  I  cried,  "and  poor  Miranda  will 
be  within  sound  of  the  sea.  If  she  were  not,  she  would  pine 
away  like  her  own  araucarias  which  will  not  live  outside  of 
the  wave  music.  But  how  about  the  cash  part  of  it  ?  I 
haven't  much.  Most  of  my  savings  went  down  in  the  Leo- 
nora. " 

"  Oh,  we'll  manage  that  somehow  !  Old  Paul  will  Avork 
that  part  of  the  arrangement.  I  daresay  your  father  will 
advance  what  will  make  your  share  equal,  or  nearly  so,  to 
ours." 

"It  sounds  well,"  I  said.  "With  partners  like  Mr. 
Frankston  and  yourself  a  man  ought  to  be  able  to  do  some- 
thing. I  know  almost  every  island  where  trade  can  be  got, 
and  the  price  to  a  cowrie  that  should  be  paid.  There  ought 
to  be  a  fortune  in  it  in  five  years.  What  a  pity  Hayst^p 
couldn't  have  had  such  a  chance." 


274  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

"  He'd  have  had  the  cash,  and  the  other  partners  the 
experience,  in  less  than  that  time,"  said  the  captain,  smiling 
sardonically.  "  He  was  a  first-rate  organiser  if  he  had  not 
been  such  a  d — d  scoundrel.  He  had  some  fine  qualities, 
I  allow ;  as  a  seaman  he  had  no  equal.  In  the  good  old 
lighting  days  he  would  have  been  a  splendid  robber  baron. 
But  in  these  modern  times,  where  there  is  a  trifle  of  law 
and  order  in  most  countries,  even  in  the  South  Seas  he  was 
out  of  place." 

"  He  was  far  from  a  model  mariner,"  I  said,  "  but  it  hurts 
me  to  hear  him  condemned.  He  had  splendid  points  in  his 
character,  and  no  one  but  myself  will  ever  know  how  much 
good  there  was  mixed  up  with  his  recklessness  and  despair. 
I  left  him,  but  I  couldn't  help  being  fond  of  him  to  the 
last." 

"  It  was  a  good  thing  for  you  that  you  did  —  a  very  good 
thing.  You  will  live  to  be  thankful  for  it.  He  was  a  dan- 
gerous beggar,  and  neither  man  nor  woman  could  escape  his 
fascination.  However,  that's  all  past  and  gone  now.  You're 
married  and  settled,  remember,  and  you're  to  be  Hilary 
Telfer,  Esq.,  J.P.,  and  all  the  rest  of  it  directly,  and  the 
only  sea-going  business  you  can  have  for  the  future  is  to  be 
Commodore  of  the  Neutral  Bay  Yacht  Club,  or  some  such 
title  and  distinction.  And  now  I've  done  for  the  present. 
You  go  and  see  what  Miranda  thinks  of  it.  I  won't  agree 
to  anything  unless  she  consents." 

Miranda  was  charmed  with  the  idea  of  a  mercantile  ma- 
rine enterprise,  so  much  in  accordance  with  her  previous 
habits  and  experiences.  The  added  inducement  of  living 
on  the  sea-shore,  with  a  boat,  a  jetty,  and  a  bathing-house, 
decided  lier.  She  implicitly  believed  in  Captain  Carryall's 
power  and  ability  to  make  our  fortune  ;  was  also  certain 
that,  with  Mr.  Frankston's  commercial  aid,  we  should  soon  be 
as  rich  as  the  Guldensterns,  the  Kothschilds  of  the  Pacific. 
She  surrendered  herself  thereupon  to  a  dream  of  bliss,  al- 


EPITHALAMIUM  275 

loyed  only  at  intervals  by  a  tinge  of  apprehension  that  the 
great  undiscovered  country  of  Sydney  society  might  prove 
hostile  or  indiiferent. 

So  much  she  communicated  to  Miss  Vavasour  as  she  and 
Mrs.  Craven  were  reclining  side  by  side  on  their  deck  chairs, 
wliile  the  Florentia  was  gliding  along  on  another  day  all 
sunshine,  azure,  and  favouring  breeze. 

"  Don't  you  be  afraid,  my  dear,"  said  the  kind-hearted  Mrs. 
Craven,  "  you  and  your  husband  are  quite  able  to  hold  your 
own  in  Sydney  society  or  any  other ;  indeed,  I  shall  be 
inclined  to  bet  that  you'd  be  the  rage  rather  than  otherwise. 
I  wish  I  had  you  in  Northamptonshire,  I'd  undertake  to 
'knock  out'  (as  Charlie  says)  the  local  belles  in  a  fort- 
night." 

Miranda  laughed  the  childishly  happy  laugh  of  unspoiled 
girlhood.  "  Dear  Mrs.  Craven,  how  good  of  you  to  say  so ; 
but,  of  course,  I  know  I'm  a  sort  of  savage,  who  will  im- 
prove in  a  year  or  two  if  every  one  is  as  kind  as  you  and 
Miss  Vavasour  here ;  but  suppose  they  should  be  like  her," 
and  she  motioned  towards  Mrs.  Percival. 

This  lady  had  never  relaxed  the  coldness  and  hauteur 
towards  Miranda  and  myself.  She  had  been  unable  to 
modify  her  "Indian  manner,"  as  Captain  Carr^'all  and  Mr. 
Vavasour  called  it,  and  about  which  they  made  daily 
jokes. 

As  she  passed  the  little  group,  she  bowed  slightly  and 
without  relaxation  of  feature,  going  forward  to  the  waist 
of  the  ship,  where  she  sat  down  and  was  soon  absorbed  in 
a  book.  The  three  friends  smiled  at  each  other,  and  con- 
tinued their  conversation. 

"  I  should  like  to  dress  you  for  a  garden-party,  Miranda," 
said  Miss  Vavasour  ;  "  let  me  see  now,  a  real  summer  day, 
such  as  we  sometimes  get  in  dear  old  England  —  not  like 
this  one  perhaps,  but  very  nice.  A  lovely  old  manor  house 
like    Gravenhurst   or  Hunsdon  —  such   a  lawn,    such   old 


276  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

trees,  such  a  river,  a  marquee  under  an  elm  a  hundred 
years  old,  and  the  county  magnates  marching  in  from  their 
carriages." 

"  Oh,  how  delicious ! "  cried  Miranda.  "  I  have  read 
such  descriptions  in  books,  but  you  —  oh,  how  happy  you 
must  be  to  have  lived  it  all !  " 

"  It's  very  nice,  but  as  to  the  happiness,  that  doesn't 
always  follow,"  confessed  the  English  girl  with  a  half 
sigh.  "  I  almost  think  you  have  the  greater  share  of  that. 
Anyhow,  just  as  the  company  are  assembled,  I  am  seen 
walking  down  from  the  house.  We  are  of  the  house  party, 
you  know,  Miranda  and  I.  She  is  dressed  in  a  soft,  white, 
embroidered  muslin,  very  simply  made,  with  a  little,  a  very 
little  Valenciennes  lace.  Its  long  straight  folds  hang 
gracefully  around  her  matchless  figure,  and  are  confined  at 
the  waist  by  a  broad,  white  moire  sash;  white  gloves, 
a  white  moire  parasol,  a  large  Gainsborough  hat  with 
fleecy  white  feathers,  and  Miranda's  costume  is  complete 
— the  very  embodiment  of  fresh,  fair  girlhood,  unspotted 
from  the  world  of  fashion  and  foil  v." 


CHAPTER   XVI 

A    SWIM    FOR   LIFE 

The  words  died  on  her  lips  as  a  shriek,  wild,  agonising, 
despairing,  rang  through  the  air,  and  startled  not  only  the 
little  group  of  pleased  listeners,  but  all  who  happened  to  be 
on  deck  at  the  time.  We  started  up  and  gazed  towards  the 
spot  whence  the  cry  had  come.  The  colonel,  who  had  been 
reading  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  deck,  calmly  smoking 
the  while,  dropped  his  book  and  only  saved  his  meer- 
schaum by  a  cricketer's  smart  catch.  The  captain  came 
bounding  up  from  below,  followed  by  the  steward  and  his 
boy ;  the  foc'sle  hands,  with  the  black  cook,  hurled  them- 
selves aft.  All  guessed  the  cause  as  they  saw  Mrs.  Percival 
wringing  her  hands  frantically  and  gazing  at  an  object  in 
the  sea. 

Her  boy  had  fallen  overboard !  Yes !  the  little  fellow, 
active  and  courageous  beyond  his  years,  had  tried  to  crawl 
up  to  the  shrouds  while  his  mother's  eyes  were  engaged  in 
the  perusal  of  the  leading  novel  of  the  day.  Weary  of 
inaction,  the  poor  little  chap  had  done  a  little  climbing  on 
his  own  account,  and  an  unexpected  roll  of  the  ship  had 
sent  him  overboard.  Light  as  the  wind  was,  he  was 
already  a  long  way  astern. 

Long  before  all  these  observations  were  made,  however, 
and  while  the  astonished  spectators  were  questioning  their 
senses  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  confusion,  Miranda  had 
sprung  upon  the  rail,  and  in  the  next  moment,  with  hands 
clasped   above   her  head,  was  parting  the  smooth  waters. 

277 


278  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

Rising  to  the  surface,  she  swam  with  rapid  and  powerful 
strokes  towards  the  receding  form  of  the  still  floating 
child.  With  less  rapidity  of  motion,  I  cast  myself  into 
the  heaving  waste  of  water,  not  that  I  doubted  Miranda's 
ability  to  overtake  and  bear  up  the  child,  but  from  simple 
inability  to  remain  behind  while  all  that  was  worth  living 
for  on  earth  was  adrift  upon  the  wave. 

I  followed  in  her  wake,  and  though  I  failed  to  keep  near 
her,  for  the  Pitcaim  islanders  are  among  the  fastest 
swimmers  in  the  world,  I  yet  felt  that  I  might  be  of  some 
use  or  aid.  Long  before  I  could  overtake  her  she  had 
caught  up  the  little  fellow,  and  lifting  him  high  above 
the  water,  was  swimming  easily  towards  me. 

"Oh!  you  foolish  boy  ! "  she  cried,  "why  did  you  come 
after  me  ?  do  you  want  to  be  drowned  again  ?  "  Here  she 
smiled  and  showed  her  lovely  teeth  as  if  it  was  rather  a 
good  joke.  It  may  have  been,  but  at  that  time  and  place 
I  was  not  in  the  humour  to  perceive  it. 

"  I  came  for  the  same  reason  that  you  did,  I  suppose  — 
because  I  could  not  stay  behind.  If  anything  had  hap- 
pened to  you  what  should  I  have  done  ?  Here  comes  the 
boat,  though,  and  we  can  talk  it  over  on  board." 

Some  little  time  had  been  expended  in  lowering  the  boat. 
The  ship  had  been  brought  to,  but  even  then  —  and  with 
so  light  a  wind  —  it  was  astonishing  what  a  distance  we 
had  fallen  behind.  It  was  a  curious  sensation,  such  specks 
as  we  were  upon  the  immense  water-plain  which  stretched 
around  to  the  horizon.  However,  the  Florentia  was  strongly 
in  evidence,  and  nearer  and  nearer  came  the  whaleboat,  with 
the  captain  at  the  steer-oar,  and  the  men  pulling  as  if  they 
were  laying  on  a  crack  harpooner  to  an  eighty  barrel  whale. 

We  were  now  swimming  side  by  side,  Miranda  talking 
to  the  little  fellow,  who  had  never  lost  consciousness,  and 
did  not  seem  particularly  afraid  of  his  position. 

"How  tremendously   hard   they   are   pulling!"  I    said; 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIFE  279 

"they  are  making  the  boat  spin  again.     One  would  think 
they  were  pulling  for  a  wager." 

"  So  they  are,"  answered  she, ''  for  three  lives,  and  perhaps 
another.     See  there  !  God  in  His  mercy  protect  us." 

I  followed  the  direction  of  her  turned  head,  and  my  heart 
stood  still  as  my  eye  caught  the  fatal  sign  of  the  monster's 
presence  at  no  great  distance  from  us.  It  was  the  back  fin 
of  a  shark ! 

"  Do  your  best,  my  beloved,"  she  continued ;  "  we  must 
keep  together,  and  if  he  overtakes  us  before  the  boat  reaches, 
splash  hard  and  shout  as  loud  as  you  can.  I  have  seen  a 
shark  frightened  before  now  ;  but  please  God  it  may  not 
come  to  that." 

The  boat  came  nearer  —  still  nearer  —  but,  as  it  seemed 
to  us,  all  too  slowly.  The  men  were  pulling  for  their  lives, 
I  could  notice,  and  the  captain  frantically  urging  them  on. 
They  had  seen  the  dreaded  signal  before  us,  and  had  com- 
menced to  race  from  that  moment.  But  for  some  delay  in 
the  tackle  for  lowering,  they  would  have  been  up  to  us 
before  now. 

As  it  was  we  did  our  best.  I  would  have  taken  the  child, 
but  Miranda  would  not  allow  me.  "  His  weight  is  nothing 
in  the  water,"  she  said,  "  and  I  could  swim  faster  than  you, 
even  with  him."  This  she  showed  me  she  could  do  by 
shooting  ahead  with  the  greatest  ease,  and  then  allowing 
me  to  overtake  her.  I  had  to  let  her  have  her  own  way. 
We  were  lessening  the  distance  between  us  and  the  boat. 
but  the  sea  demon  had  a  mind  to  overtake  us,  and  our 
hearts  almost  failed  as  we  noticed  the  sharp  black  fin  gain- 
ing rapidly  upon  us.  Still  there  was  one  chance,  that  he 
would  not  pursue  us  to  the  very  side  of  the  boat.  It  was 
a  terrible  moment.  With  every  muscle  strained  to  the 
uttermost,  with  lung,  and  sinew,  and  every  organ  taxed  to 
utmost  tension,  I  most  certainly  beat  any  previous  record 
in   swimming   that   I   had   ever   attained.     ^Miranda,   with 


280  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

apparently  but  little  effort,  kept  slightly  ahead.  The  last 
few  yards  —  shorter  than  the  actual  distance  —  appeared  to 
divide  us  from  the  huge  form  of  the  monster  now  distinctly 
visible  beneath  the  water,  when  with  one  frantic  yell  and  a 
dash  at  the  oars,  which  took  every  remaining  pound  of 
strength  out  of  the  willing  crew,  the  boat  shot  up  within 
equal  distance.  At  a  signal  from  the  captain  every  oar  was 
raised  and  brought  down  again  with  a  terrific  splash  into 
the  water,  and  a  simultaneous  yell.  The  effort  was  success- 
ful. The  huge  creature,  strangely  timid  in  some  respects, 
stopped,  and  with  one  powerful  side  motion  of  fins  and  tail 
glided  out  of  the  line  of  pursuit.  At  the  same  moment  the 
boat  swept  up,  and  eager  arms  lifted  Miranda  and  her 
burden  into  it.  My  hand  was  on  the  gunwale  until 
I  saw  her  safe,  whence  with  a  slight  amount  of  assistance 
I  gained  the  mid-thwart. 

"  Saved,  thank  God ! "  cried  the  captain,  with  fervent 
expression,  "  but  a  mighty  close  thing ;  the  next  time  you 
take  a  bath  of  this  kind,  my  dear  Miranda,  with  sharks 
around,  you  must  let  me  know  beforehand,  eh  ?  " 

"  Some  one  would  have  had  to  go,  captain,"  she  answered ; 
"  we  couldn't  see  the  dear  little  fellow  drowned  before  our 
eyes.  It  was  only  a  trifle  after  all  —  a  swim  in  smooth 
water  on  a  fine  day :  I  didn't  reckon  on  a  shark  being  so 
close,  I  must  say." 

"  I  saw  the  naughty  shark,"  said  the  little  fellow,  now 
quite  recovered  and  in  his  usual  spirits.  "How  close  he 
came  !  do  you  think  he  would  have  eaten  us  all,  captain  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  boy  —  without  salt ;  you  would  never  have 
seen  your  papa  and  mamma  again  if  it  had  not  been  for 
this  lady  here." 

"  But  you  took  us  in  the  boat,  captain,"  argued  the  little 
fellow ;  "  he  can't  catch  us  in  here,  can  he  ?  " 

"But  the  lady  caught  you  in  her  arms  long  before  the 
boat   came   up,   my  dear,   or  else  you  would  have  been 


A   SWIM   FOli   LIFE  281 

drowned  over  and  over  again;  that  confounded  tackle 
caught,  or  else  we  should  have  been  up  long  before.  It's 
a  good  thing  they  were  not  lowering  for  a  whale,  or  my 
first  mate's  language  would  have  been  something  to  remem- 
ber till  the  voyage  after  next.  However,  here  we  are  all 
safe,  Charlie,  and  there's  your  mother  looking  out  for  you." 

A  painfully  eager  face  was  that  which  gazed  from  the 
vessel  as  we  rowed  alongside.  Every  trace  of  the  languor 
partly  born  of  the  tropic  sun  and  partly  of  aristocratic 
morgue  was  gone  from  the  countenance  of  Mrs.  Percival,  as 
her  boy,  laughing  and  prattling,  was  carried  up  the  rope 
ladder  and  lifted  on  deck.  His  mother  clasped  him  now 
passionately  in  her  arms,  sobbing,  blessing,  kissing  him,  and 
crying  aloud  that  God  had  restored  her  child  from  the  dead. 
"  Oh,  my  boy  !  my  boy  !  "  she  repeated  again  and  again  ; 
"  your  mother  would  have  died  too,  if  you  had  been  drowned, 
she  would  never  have  lived  without  you." 

By  this  time  Miranda  had  reached  the  deck,  where  she  was 
received  with  a  hearty  British  cheer  from  the  ship's  com- 
pany, while  the  passengers  crowded  around  her  as  if  she 
had  acquired  a  new  character  in  their  eyes.  But  Mrs. 
Percival  surpassed  them  all ;  kneeling  before  Miranda  she 
bowed  herself  to  the  deck,  as  if  in  adoration,  and  kissed  her 
wet  feet  again  and  again. 

"  You  have  saved  my  child  from  a  terrible  death  at  the 
risk  of  your  own  and  your  husband's  lives,"  she  said. 
"  May  God  forget  me  if  I  forget  your  noble  act  this  day  !  I 
have  been  proud  and  unkind  in  my  manner  to  you,  my  dear. 
I  humble  myself  at  your  feet,  and  implore  your  pardon. 
But  henceforth,  Miranda  Telfer,  you  and  I  are  sisters.  If 
I  do  not  do  something  in  requital  it  will  go  hard  with  me 
and  Charlie." 

"Now,  my  dear  Sybil,  "  interposed  the  husband,  "do  you 
observe  that  Mrs.  Telfer  has  not  had  time  to  change  her 
dress  —  very  wet  it  seems  to  be  —  and  I  suppose  Master 


282  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

Charlie  will  be  none  the  worse  for  being  put  to  bed  and 
well  scolded,  the  young  rascal.     Come,  my  dear." 

Colonel  Percival,  doubtless,  felt  a  world  of  joy  and  relief 
when  the  light  of  his  eyes  and  the  joy  of  his  heart  stood 
safe  and  sound  on  the  deck  of  the  Florentia  again,  but  it  is 
not  the  wont  of  the  British  aristocrat  to  give  vent  to  his 
emotions,  even  the  holiest,  in  public.  The  veil  of  indiffer- 
ence is  thrown  over  them,  and  men  may  but  guess  at  the 
volcanic  forces  at  work  below  that  studiously  calm  exterior. 

So,  laying  his  hand  gently  but  firmly  on  his  wife's  arm, 
he  led  her  to  her  cabin,  with  her  boy  still  clasped  in  her 
arms  as  if  she  yet  feared  to  lose  him,  and  they  disappeared 
from  our  eyes.  As  for  Miranda  and  myself,  such  immer- 
sions had  been  daily  matters  of  course,  and  were  regarded 
as  altogether  too  trifling  occurrences  to  require  more  than 
the  necessary  changes  of  clothing. 

We  both  appeared  in  our  places  at  the  next  meal,  when 
Miranda  was  besieged  with  questions  as  to  her  sensations, 
mingled  with  praises  of  her  courage  and  endurance  in  that 
hour  of  deadly  peril. 

"And  her  child,  too,"  Said  Mrs.  Craven;  "what  a  lesson 
of  humility  it  ought  to  teach  her !  Had  you,  my  dear  girl, 
been  swayed  by  any  of  the  meaner  motives  which  actuate 
men  and  women  her  foolish  pride  might  have  cost  her 
child's  life." 

"  Oh,  surely  no  one  could  have  had  such  thoughts  when 
that  dear  little  boy  fell  overboard !  I  couldn't  help  Mrs. 
Percival  not  liking  me.  1  really  did  not  think  much  about 
it;  but  when  I  saw  the  poor  little  face  in  the  sea,  more 
startled,  indeed,  than  frightened,  I  felt  as  if  I  must  go  in 
after  him.     It  was  quite  a  matter  of  course." 

After  this  incident  it  may  be  believed  that  we  were  in- 
deed a  happy  family  on  board  the  Florentia.  Every  one 
vied  with  every  one  else  in  exhibiting  respect  and  admira- 
tion towards  Miranda,     Mis.  Percival  would  not  hear  of  a 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIFE  283 

refiisal  that  we  should  come  and  stay  with  her,  when  we 
had  done  all  that  was  proper  and  dutiful  in  the  family  home. 
Miss  Vavasour  and  Mrs.  Craven  depended  on  me  to  show 
them  all  the  beauties  of  Sydney  harbour;  while  Captain 
Carryall  pledged  himself  to  place  Mr.  Frankston's  yacht  at 
the  service  of  his  passengers  generally,  and  to  render  them 
competent  to  champion  the  much-vaunted  glories  of  the 
unrivalled  harbour  to  all  friends,  foes,  and  doubters  on  the 
other  side  of  the  world. 

Colonel  Percival  privately  interrogated  the  captain  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  commercial  undertaking  in  which  he  was 
about  to  arrange  a  partnership  for  me,  and  begged  as  a 
favour,  being  a  man  of  ample  means,  that  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  advance  the  amount  of  my  share.  The  captain 
solemnly  promised  him  that  if  there  was  any  difficulty  in 
the  proposed  arrangement  on  account  of  my  deficiency  of 
cash  he  should  be  requested  to  supply  it.  "  He  seemed  to 
feel  easy  in  his  mind  after  I  told  him  this,  my  boy,"  said 
the  commander,  with  that  mixture  of  simplicity  and  astute- 
ness which  distinguished  him,  "but  fancy  old  Paul  and 
your  father  admitting  outside  capital  in  one  of  their  trade 
ventures !  " 

"  This  time  to-morrow  we  shall  be  going  through  Sydney 
Heads,"  said  the  first  mate  to  me  as  we  walked  the  deck 
about  an  hour  after  sunrise  one  morning,  "that  is,  if  the 
wind  holds." 

"  Pray  Heaven  it  may,"  said  I,  "  then  we  shall  have  a 
view  of  the  harbour  and  city  worth  seeing.  It  makes  all 
the  difference.  We  might  have  a  cloudy  day,  or  be  tacking 
about  till  nightfall,  and  the  whole  effect  would  be  lost."  I 
was  most  anxious  not  only  that  Miranda's  first  sight  of  my 
native  land  and  her  future  home  should  impress  her  favour- 
ably, but  I  was  naturally  concerned  that  our  friends  should 


284  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

not  suppose  that  the  descriptions  of  the  Queen  City  of  the 
South,  with  which  the  captain  and  I  had  regaled  them, 
were  overdrawn.  We  sat  late  at  supper  that  night  talking 
over  the  wonderful  events  and  experiences  that  were  to 
occur  on  the  morrow.  Plans  were  discussed,  probable 
residence  and  inland  travel  calculated,  the  Fish  River  caves 
and  the  Blue  Mountains  were,  of  course,  to  be  visited  —  all 
kinds  of  expeditions  and  slightly  incongruous  journeys  to 
be  carried  out. 

Colonel  and  Mrs.  Percival  had  been  asked  to  stay  at 
Government  House  during  their  visit,  which  was  compara- 
tively short;  while  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Craven  and  Miss  Vava- 
sour were  to  go  primarily  to  Petty 's  Hotel,  which  had  been 
highly  recommended ;  and  the  gentlemen  had  intimation 
that  they  would  receive  notices  of  their  being  admitted  as 
honorary  members  of  the  Australian  and  Union  Clubs. 
With  such  cheerful  expectations  and  forecasts  we  parted 
for  the  night. 

The  winds  were  kind.  "  The  breeze  stuck  to  us,"  as  the 
mate  expressed  it,  and  about  an  hour  after  the  time  he  had 
mentioned  we  were  within  a  mile  of  the  towering  sandstone 
portals  of  that  erstwhile  strange,  silent  harbour  into  which 
the  gallant  seaman  Cook,  old  England's  typical  mariner, 
had  sailed  a  hundred  years  ago. 

I  had  been  on  deck  since  dawn.  Now  that  we  were  so 
near  the  home  of  my  childhood,  the  thoughts  of  old  days, 
and  the  parents,  brothers,  sisters,  from  whom  I  had  been 
so  long  separated,  rushed  into  my  mind,  until  I  felt  almost 
suffocated  with  contending  emotions.  How  would  they 
receive  us  ?  Would  they  be  prepared  to  see  me  a  married 
man  ?  Would  their  welcome  to  Miranda  be  warm  or  for- 
mal ?  I  began  to  foresee  difficulties  —  even  dangers  of 
family  disruption  —  consequences  which  before  had  never 
entered  into  the  calculation. 

However,  for  the  present  these  serious  reflections  were 


A    SWIM    FOR    LIFE  285 

put  to  flight  by  expressions  of  delight  from  the  whole  body 
of  passengers,  headed  by  Miranda,  who  then  came  on  deck. 
By  this  time  the  good  ship  Florentia  had  closely  approached 
the  comparatively  narrow  entrance,  the  frowning  buttresses 
of  sandstone,  against  Avhich  the  waves,  now  dashed  with 
hoarse  and  angry  murmur,  rose  almost  above  us,  while  a 
long  line  of  surges,  lit  up  by  the  red  dawn  fires,  menaced 
us  on  either  hand. 

"  Oh,  what  a  lovely  entrance  ! "  said  Miss  Vavasour,  after 
gazing  long  and  earnestly  at  the  scene.  "  It  seems  like  the 
gate  of  an  enchanted  lake.  What  magnificent  rock-masses, 
and  what  light  and  colour  the  sun  brings  out !  It  is  some- 
thing like  a  sun  —  warm,  glowing,  irradiating  everything 
even  at  this  early  hour — and  what  a  sky  !  The  dream  tone 
of  a  painter !  I  congratulate  3^ou,  you  dear  darling  Miranda, 
and  you,  Mr.  Telfer,  on  having  such  a  day  for  home-coming. 
It  is  a  good  omen  —  I  am  sure  it  must  be.  Nothing  but 
good  could  happen  on  such  a  glorious  day." 

"The  day  is  perfection,  but  more  than  one  good  ship 
coming  through  this  entrance  at  night  has  mistaken  the 
indentation  on  the  other  side  of  the  South  Head  for  the  true 
passage,  and  gone  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  below  that  prom- 
ontory. But,  at  any  rate,  ice  are  now  safely  inside;  and 
where  is  there  a  harbour  in  the  world  to  match  it  ?  " 

As  we  passed  Middle  harbour  and  drew  slowly  up  the 
great  waterway,  which  affords  perhaps  more  deep  anchor- 
age than  any  other  in  the  world,  the  ladies  were  loud  in 
their  expressions  of  admiration.  "  Look  at  those  sweet 
white  houses  on  the  shores  of  the  pretty  little  bays ! "  said 
Mrs.  Craven ;  "  and  what  lovely  gardens  and  terraces 
stretching  down  to  the  beaches ! " 

"  And  there  is  a  Norfolk  Island  pine,  one  —  two  —  ever 
so  many,"  cried  Miranda.  "I  did  not  think  they  grew 
here,  I  am  sure  now  that  I  shall  be  happy." 

"  Yes,  of  course ! "    said   Miss   Vavasour,  "  what   is   to 


286  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

hinder  you  ?  And  you  are  to  live  in  one  of  those  pretty 
cream-coloured  cottages  —  what  lovely  stone  it  must  be  !  — 
with  a  garden  just  like  that  one  on  the  point,  and  a  boat- 
house  and  a  jetty.  One  of  those  little  steamers  that  I  see 
fussing  about  will  land  Mr.  Telfer,  when  he  returns  from 
the  city,  or  you  can  get  into  that  little  boat  that  lies  moored 
below,  and  row  across  the  bay  for  him." 

Miranda's  eyes  filled  as  she  glanced  at  the  pretty  villas 
and  more  pretentious  mansions,  past  which  we  glided,  some 
half-covered  with  climbers,  or  buried  amid  tropical  shrubs 
of  wild  luxuriance.  Her  heart  was  too  deeply  stirred  for 
jesting  at  that  moment.  She  could  only  press  her  friend's 
hand  and  smile,  as  if  pleading  for  a  less  humorous  view  of 
so  important  a  subject. 

The  harbour  itself  was  full  of  interest  to  the  strangers. 
Vessels  of  all  sizes  and  shapes — coasters,  colliers,  pas- 
senger-boats, yachts,  and  steam  launches,  passed  and  re- 
passed in  endless  succession.  Two  men-of-war  lay  peacefully 
at  anchor  in  Farm  Cove,  a  Messagerie  steamer  in  the 
stream,  while  a  huge  P.  &  O.  mail-boat  outward  bound 
moved  majestically  towards  the  Heads  through  which  we 
had  so  recently  entered. 

We  had  just  cleared  Point  Piper,  where  I  remember 
spending  the  joyous  holidays  of  long  ago  with  my  school- 
mates, the  sons  of  the  fine  old  English  gentleman  who  then 
dwelt  there,  when  a  sailing  boat  sped  swiftly  towards  us, 
in  which  stood  a  stout,  middle-aged  man  waving  his  hat 
frantically. 

"  I  believe  that  is  Paul  Frankston  himself  come  to  over- 
haul us,"  said  the  captain,  raising  his  glass.  "He's  sailor 
enough  to  recognise  the  rig  of  the  Florentia,  and  if  we  had 
been  a  little  nearer  his  bay,  he'd  have  wanted  us  to  stop 
the  ship  and  lunch  with  him  in  a  body.  As  it  is  I  feel 
sure  he'll  capture  some  of  the  party." 

''  What  splendid  hospitality !  "  said  Mrs.  Percival.     "  Is 


A    SWIM    FOR    LIFE  287 

that  sort  of  thing  usual  here  ?  you  must  be  something  like 
us  Indians  in  your  ways." 

"There  is  a  good  deal  of  likeness,  I  think,"  said  the 
captain.  "  I  suppose  the  heat  accounts  for  it.  It's  too  liot 
to  refuse,  most  of  the  year.     But  here  comes  Paul!" 

The  sailing  boat  by  this  time  had  run  alongside  and 
doused  her  sail,  while  one  of  the  cvew  held  on  to  a  rope 
thrown  to  him,  as  the  owner  presented  himself  on  deck 
with  more  agility  than  might  have  been  expected  from  a 
man  of  his  age. 

"AVell,  Charley,  my  boy,  so  you're  in  at  last  —  thought 
you  were  lost,  or  had  run  away  and  sold  the  ship,  ha,  ha! 
What  sort  of  a  voyage  have  you  had?  Passengers,  too  — 
pray  introduce  me.  Is  there  anything  I  can  do  for  them  in 
Sydney?  Must  be  something.  Perhaps  I  shall  hear  by 
and  by.     Who's  this  youngster  ? 

"  Xo !  surely  not  the  son  of  my  old  friend,  Captain  Telfer  ? 
Now  I  remember  the  boy  that  ran  away  to  the  islands,  or 
would  have  done  so,  if  they  hadn't  let  him  go.  Quite  right, 
I  ran  away  myself  and  a  fine  time  I  had  there.  I  must  tell 
you  what  happened  to  me  there  once,  eh !  Charley  ?  " 

Here  the  old  gentleman  began  to  laugh  so  heartily  that 
he  was  forced  to  suspend  his  narration,  while  the  captain 
regarded  him  with  an  expression  which  conveyed  a  slight 
look  of  warning.  ''But  I  am  forgetting.  By  the  way, 
Charley,  have  you  any  curios  in  your  cabin  ? "  The  cap- 
tain nodded,  and  the  two  old  friends  disappeared  down  the 
companion.  Only,  however,  to  reappear  in  a  very  few^  min- 
utes, which  we  employed  in  favourable  criticism. 

"  What  a  fine  hearty  old  gentleman !  "  said  Mrs.  Craven, 
"  any  one  can  see  that  he  is  an  Englishman  by  his  figure 
and  the  way  he  talks ;  though  I  suppose  colonists  are  not 
so  very  different." 

"  Mr.  Frankston  has  been  a  good  deal  about  the  world," 
I  said.     "  But  he  was  born  in  Sydney,  and  has  spent  the 


288  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

greater  part  of  his  life  near  this  very  spot.  He  was  at  sea 
in  his  earlier  years,  but  has  been  on  shore  since  he  married. 
He  is  now  a  wealthy  man,  and  one  of  the  leading  Sydney 
merchants." 

"  One  would  think  he  was  a  sea  captain  now,"  said  Miss 
Vavasour.  ''He  looks  quite  as  much  like  one  as  a  mer- 
chant ;  but  I  suppose  every  one  can  sail  a  boat  here." 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Miss  Vavasour.  Every  one  who  is 
born  in  Sydney  learns  to  swim  and  sail  a  boat  as  soon  as 
possible  after  he  can  walk.  There  is  no  place  in  the  world 
where  there  are  so  many  yachtsmen.  On  holidays  you  may 
see  doctors,  lawyers,  clergymen,  even  judges,  sailing  their 
boats  —  doing  a  good  deal  of  their  own  work  in  the  '  able 
seaman'  line;  and,  to  tell  truth,  looking  occasionally  much 
more  like  pirates  than  sober  professional  men." 

About  this  time  Mr.  Frankston  reappeared,  carrying  in 
his  hand  a  couple  of  grass-er-garments,  which  he  appeared 
to  look  upon  as  very  precious.  '  These  are  for  my  little 
girl,"  he  said,  "  she  has  just  come  down  from  the  bush  with 
her  husband  to  spend  the  hot  months  with  her  old  father. 
It  will  give  her  the  greatest  pleasure  to  see  these  ladies  and 
their  husbands  at  Marahmee,  next  Saturday,  when  we  can 
have  a  little  picnic  in  the  harbour  and  a  sail  in  my  yacht, 
the  Sea-gull.  The  captain  will  tell  you  that  I  am  to  be 
trusted  with  a  lively  boat  still." 

"  I  never  wish  to  go  to  sea  with  a  better  sailor,"  said  the 
captain,  "  and  if  our  friends  have  no  other  engagements, 
I  can  promise  them  a  delightful  day  and  a  view  of  some  of 
the  finest  scenery  south  of  the  line." 

Barring  unforeseen  or  indispensable  engagements  every 
one  promised  to  go.  Mr.  Frankston  averred  that  they  had 
done  him  a  great  —  an  important  service.  He  was  getting 
quite  hipped  —  he  was  indeed  —  when  his  daughter  luckily 
recognised  the  Florentia  coming  up  the  harbour.  She  is  a 
sailor's  daughter,  you  know  —  has  an  eye  for  a  ship  —  and 


A   SWIM    FOR    LIFE  289 

started  him  off  to  meet  his  old  friend  Captain  Carryall,  and 
secure  him  for  dinner.  Now  he  felt  quite  another  man, 
and  would  say  good-bye.  Before  leaving  he  must  have  a 
word  with  his  young  friend. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  he,  laying  his  hand  on  my  shoulder, 
*'  1  have  known  your  father  ever  so  many  years.  We  were 
younger  men  then,  and  saw  something  of  each  other  in 
more  than  one  bit  of  fun ;  and  at  least  one  or  two  very 
queer  bits  of  fighting  in  the  Bay  of  Islands  ;  so  that  we 
know  each  other  pretty  well.  I've  heard  what  Carryall  has 
to  say  about  you  and  your  charming  wife.  I  think  we  shall 
be  able  to  '  fix  up,'  as  our  American  friends  say,  our  little 
mercantile  arrangement  very  neatly.  But  that's  not  what 
I  wanted  to  talk  to  you  about.  You've  been  away  a  good 
while,  so  many  years,  we'll  say." 

"  I  have  indeed,"  I  replied. 

"  Well  —  you've  grown  from  a  boy  into  a  man,  and  a  devil- 
ish fine  one  too."  Here  the  dear  old  chap  patted  me  on 
the  back  and  looked  up  at  ray  face,  a  great  deal  higher  up 
than  his.  ''Well!  naturally,  you've  changed.  So  have 
your  people,  your  young  brothers  and  sisters  have  turned 
into  men  and  women  while  you've  been  away.  And  then 
again,  another  change  —  a  great  one  too  —  you're  married." 

"  Yes  !  thank  God  I  am." 

"I  am  sure  you  have  good  reason,  my  boy.  But  my  idea 
is  this,  people  —  the  best  of  people  —  don't  like  surprises, 
—  even  one's  own  friends.  Now,  what  I  want  you  to  do  is 
to  bring  your  wife  and  come  and  stay  at  Marahmee  for  a 
week,  while  they're  getting  your  rooms  ready  for  you  at 
North  Shore.  There's  nobody  there  now  but  Antonia  and 
her  husband.  It  wants  another  pair  of  young  people  to 
enliven  the  place  a  bit.  And  Charley  Carryall  will  go  over 
and  tell  them  all  about  you  and  your  pretty  Miranda,  while 
you  and  I  settle  our  partnership  affairs." 

I  could  see  how  it  was  ;  our  good  old  friend,  with  a  kind- 

D 


290  A    MODERN   BUCCANEER 

ness  and  delicacy  of  feeling  which  I  have  rarely  seen 
equalled,  had  all  along  made  up  his  mind  that  Miranda 
and  I  should  begin  our  Sydney  experiences  with  a  visit  to 
his  hospitable  mansion.  After  a  talk  with  the  captain,  for 
which  purpose  he  had  feigned  an  interest  in  South  Sea 
''curios,"  they  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be 
more  prudent  that  the  family  should  have  a  few  days  to 
accustom  themselves  to  the  idea  of  my  marriage.  In  the 
mean  time  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Neuchamp,  would  be  able  to 
give  Miranda  the  benefit  of  her  experience  as  a  Sydney 
matron  of  some  years'  standing,  and  to  ensure  that  she 
made  her  introduction  under  favourable  circumstances. 

Miranda,  naturally  nervous  at  the  idea  of  then  and  there 
making  her  appearance  among  a  group  of  relatives  wholly 
unknown  to  her,  was  much  relieved  at  the  delay  thus 
granted,  and  cheerfully  acceded  to  the  proposed  arrange- 
ment. 

"That  being  all  settled,  I'll  get  home  and  have  every- 
thing ready  for  you  when  you  arrive.  The  captain  will 
take  care  of  you.  He  knows  the  road  out,  eh,  Charley  ? 
night  or  day ;  so  good-bye  till  dinner  time.  Seven  o'clock 
sharp." 

Still  talking,  Mr.  Frankston  descended  to  his  boat,  and 
making  a  long  board,  proceeded  to  beat  down  the  harbour 
on  his  homeward  voyage,  waving  his  handkerchief  at  inter- 
vals until  he  rounded  a  point  and  was  lost  to  our  gaze. 


It  was  not  very  long  after  this  interview  that  we  found 
ourselves  in  our  berth  at  the  Circular  Quay,  where,  unlike 
Melbourne  and  some  other  ports,  nothing  more  was  needed 
for  disembarkation  but  to  step  on  shore  into  the  city.  Our 
good  comrades  of  so  many  days  Avere  carried  off  in  cabs  to 
their  destinations,  with  the  exception  of  the  Percivals,  who, 
having  been  invited  to  Government  House,  found  an  aide- 


A    SWIM    FOR    LIFE  291 

de-camp  and  the  viceregal  carriage  awaiting  them  on  the 
wharf.  At  such  a  time  there  is  always  a  certain  amount  of 
fuss  and  anxiety  with  reference  to  luggage,  rendering  fare- 
wells occasionally  less  sentimental  than  might  have  been 
expected  from  the  character  of  marine  friendships.  But  it 
was  not  so  in  our  experience.  Miss  Vavasour  and  Mrs. 
Craven  exchanged  touching  farewells  with  Miranda,  mingled 
with  solemn  promises  to  meet  at  given  dates  —  to  write  — 
to  do  all  sorts  of  things  necessary  for  their  keeping  up  the 
flame  of  friendship.  Then  at  the  last  moment  Colonel  and 
Mrs.  Percival  came  up.  "  My  dearest  Miranda,"  said  this 
lady,  '•  don't  forget  that  you  are  my  sister,  not  in  word  only. 
Put  me  to  the  proof  whenever  you  need  a  sister's  aid,  and 
it  shall  be  always  at  your  service.  Kiss  Auntie  Miranda, 
Charlie  darling,  and  tell  her  you  will  always  love  her." 

''  She  picked  me  up  out  of  the  sea,  when  the  naughty 
shark  was  going  to  eat  us  all.  She's  a  good  auntie,  isn't 
she,  mother  ? "  said  the  little  chap  responding  readily. 
"  Good-bye,  Auntie  Miranda." 

"  I  am  not  a  man  of  many  words,  Mr.  Telfer ! "  said  the 
colonel ;  "  but  if  I  can  be  of  service  to  you,  now  or  at  any 
future  time  I  shall  be  offended  if  you  do  not  let  me  know ; " 
and  then  the  stern  soldier  shook  my  hand  in  a  way  which 
gave  double  meaning  to  the  pledge. 


It  was  yet  early  in  the  day,  and  the  captain  had  duties 
to  attend  to  which  would  keep  him  employed  until  the 
evening.  ''  I've  ordered  a  carriage  at  six,"  he  said,  "  when 
we'll  start  for  Marahmee,  which  is  about  half-an-hour's 
drive.  Until  that  time  you  can  go  ashore  if  you  like ;  the 
Botanical  Gardens  are  just  round  that  point,  or  walk  down 
George  Street,  or  in  any  other  way  amuse  yourselves. 
Meanwhile,  consider  yourselves  at  home  also." 

"  I  think  we'll  stay  at  home  then,  captain,  for  the  pres- 


292  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

ent,"  said  Miranda,  "  and  watch  the  people  on  shore.  You 
have  no  idea  how  they  interest  me.  Everything  is  so  new. 
Remember  that  I  have  never  seen  a  carriage  in  my  Ufa 
before,  or  a  cab,  or  a  soldier;  there  goes  one  now  —  isn't 
he  beautiful  to  behold  ?  I  shall  sit  here  and  make  Hilary 
tell  me  the  names  of  all  the  specimens  as  they  come  into 
view." 

"  That  will  do  capitally,"  said  the  captain.  *'  I  might 
have  known  that  you  could  aiiiuse  yourself  without  help 
from  any  one." 

The  time  passed  quickly  enough,  with  the  aid  of  lunch. 
The  decks  were  cleared  by  six  o'clock,  by  which  time  we 
were  ready  for  the  hired  barouche  when  it  drove  up. 

Miranda  and  I  had  employed  our  time  so  well  that  she 
had  learnt  the  names  of  various  types  of  character,  and 
many  products  of  civilisation,  of  which  she  had  been  before 
necessarily  ignorant,  except  from  books.  "  It  is  a  perfect 
object  lesson,"  she  said.  '•'  How  delightful  it  is  to  be  able 
to  see  the  things  and  people  that  I  have  only  read  about ! 
I  feel  like  those  people  in  the  Arabian  Nights  who  had 
been  all  their  lives  in  a  glass  tower  on  a  desert  island. 
Not  that  our  dear  Norfolk  Island  was  a  desert  —  very  far 
from  it.  And  now  I  am  going  to  the  first  grand  house  I 
ever  saw,  and  to  live  in  it — more  wonderful  still.  I  feel 
like  a  princess  in  a  fairy  tale,'^  she  went  on,  as  she  smil- 
ingly skipped  into  the  carriage.  "Everything  seems  so 
unreal.  Do  you  think  this  will  turn  into  a  pumpkin,  drawn 
by  mice,  like  poor  Cinderella's  ?  Hers  was  a  chariot, 
though.     What  is  a  chariot  ?  " 

"  I  remember  riding  in  one  when  I  was  a  small  boy,"  I 
answered ;  ''  and,  by  the  same  token,  I  had  caught  a  number 
of  locusts,  and  put  them  into  my  hat.  I  was  invited  to 
uncover,  as  the  day  was  warm.  When  I  did  so,  the  locusts 
flew  all  about  the  closed-up  carriage  and  into  everybody's 
face.     But  chariots  are  old-fashioned  now." 


A   SWIM   FOK   LIFE  293 

Onward  we  passed  along  the  South  Head  roarl,  while 
below  us  lay  the  harbour  with  its  multitudinous  bays, 
inlets,  promontories,  and  green  knolls,  in  so  many  instances 
crowned  with  white-walled  gardens,  surrounding  villas  and 
mansions,  all  built  ot  pale-hued,  delicately-toned  sandstone. 

"  Oh !  what  a  lovely,  delicious  bay  !  "  cried  Miranda ; 
"and  these  are  the  Heads,  where  we  came  in.  Good-bye, 
old  ocean,  playfellow  of  my  childhood ;  farewell,  wind  of 
the  sea,  for  a  while.  But  I  shall  live  near  you  still,  and 
hear  you  in  my  dreams.  I  should  die  —  I  should  feel  suf- 
focated —  if  nothing  but  woods  and  forests  were  to  be 
seen." 

"  If  you  don't  die  until  you  can't  see  the  ocean,  or  feel 
the  winds  about  here,  you  will  live  a  long  time,  my  dear," 
said  the  captain.  "  I  don't  know  a  more  sea-going  popula- 
tion anywhere  than  this  Sydney  one.  Half  the  people  you 
meet  here  have  been  a  voyage,  and  the  boys  take  to  a  boat 
as  the  bush  lads  do  to  a  horse.  But  here  we  are  at  the 
Marahmee  gates,  and  there's  my  pet  Antonia  on  the  veran- 
dah ready  to  receive  us." 

As  we  drove  up  the  avenue,  which  was  not  very  long,  a 
very  pretty,  graceful  young  woman  came  swiftly  to  meet 
us.  I  knew  this  must  be  Mrs.  Xeuchamp,  formerly  Antonia 
Frankston,  the  old  man's  only  child.  She  was  not  grown 
up  when  I  left  Sydney,  and  I  heard  that  she  had  lately 
married  a  young  Englishman,  who  had  come  out  with  let- 
ters of  introduction  to  j\Ir.  Frankston.  We  had  seen  each 
other  last,  as  boy  and  girl,  long  years  ago. 

"  Well,  Captain  Charley,"  she  said,  making  as  though  she 
would  have  embraced  the  skipper,  "  what  do  you  mean  by 
being  so  long  away  ?  We  began  to  think  that  you  were 
lost  —  that  the  Florentia  had  run  on  a  reef  —  all  sorts  of 
things  —  been  cut  off  by  the  islanders,  perhaps.  But  now 
you  are  back  with  all  sorts  of  island  stories  to  tell  dad,  and 
a  few  curios  for  me.     And  you  are  Mrs.  Telfer !     Papa  has 


294  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

told  me  all  about  you  —  his  latest  admiration,  evidently. 
But  you  mustn't  get  melancholy  when  he  deserts  you ;  he 
is  a  passionate  adorer  while  it  lasts,  but  is  always  carried 
away  by  the  next  fresh  face,  generally  a  complete  contrast 
to  the  last.  I  am  sure  we  shall  be  great  friends.  I  used 
to  dance  with  your  husband  when  we  were  children.  Do 
you  remember  that  party  at  Mrs.  Morton's  ?  You  have 
grown  considerably  since  then,  and  so  handsome,  too,  I 
suppose  I  may  say  —  now  we  are  all  married  —  no  wonder 
Miranda  fell  in  love  with  you.  You're  to  call  me  Antonia, 
my  dear ;  and  now  come  upstairs,  and  I'll  show  you  your 
rooms  which  I  have  been  getting  ready  all  the  morning. 
Papa  and  Ernest  will  be  here  in  a  few  minutes." 

"Mrs.  Neuchamp  evidently  takes  after  her  father,"  I 
said,  "  who  can  say  more  kind  things  in  fewer  minutes  than 
any  one  I  ever  knew  —  and  do  them,  too,  which  is  more  to 
the  purpose.  I  am  so  glad  that  Miranda  has  had  the 
chance  of  making  her  acquaintance  before  she  sees  many 
other  people."  , 

"  She  is  a  dear,  good,  unselfish  girl,"  said  the  captain, 
"  and  was  always  the  same  from  a  child,  when  she  used  to 
sit  on  my  knee  in  this  very  verandah,  and  get  me  to  tell 
her  the  names  of  the  ships.  I  never  saw  a  child  so  thought- 
ful for  other  people,  always  wondering  what  she  could  do 
for  them ;  she  is  just  the  same  to  this  day.  She  will  be 
an  invaluable  friend  for  our  Miranda,  I  foresee.  She  can 
give  her  all  sorts  of  hints  about  housekeeping,  and  I've  no 
doubt  one  or  two  about  dress  and  the  minor  society  matters. 
Not  that  Miranda  wants  much  teaching  in  that  or  any  other 
way.  Nature  made  her  a  lady,  and  gave  her  the  look  of  a 
sea  princess,  and  nothing  could  alter  her." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  handsome  young  woman  being 
spoiled  by  flattery,  captain  ?  "  I  said.  "  I  don't  want  to 
anticipate  such  a  disaster,  but  it  strikes  me  that  if  you  are 
all  going  to  be  so  very  complimentary,  I  shall  have  to  go 
on  the  other  tack  to  keep  the  compass  level." 


A   SWIM    FOR   LIFE  295 

"  There  are  dispositions  that  flattery  falls  harmless  from," 
said  the  captain  solemnly  ;  "  there  are  women  that  cannot 
be  spoiled,  —  not  so  many,  perhaps,  but  you  have  got  one 
of  them,  Antonia  is  another.  They  will  make  a  good  pair, 
and  I'll  back  them  to  do  their  duty  and  keep  a  straight 
course,  fair  weather  or  foul,  against  any  two,  married  or 
single,  that  I  ever  saw,  and  I've  seen  a  good  many  women 
in  my  time.  But  now  we  had  better  be  ready  for  dinner, 
for  old  Paul  and  Mr.  Neuchamp  will  be  here  directly." 

They  were  not  long  in  making  their  appearance,  and  a 
very  merry  dinner  it  was.  Mr.  Frankston  wanted  to  hear 
all  about  the  islands,  and  Mrs.  Neuchamp  was  much  inter- 
ested in  Captain  Hayston,  and  thought  he  resembled  one 
of  the  buccaneers  of  the  Spanish  Main,  for  whom  she  had  a 
sentimental  admiration  in  her  girlhood. 

"  What  a  pity  that  all  the  romantic  and  picturesque 
people  should  be  so  wicked  !  "  she  asked.  "  How  is  it,  and 
what  law  of  nature  can  it  be  that  arranges  that  so  many 
good  and  worthy  people  are  so  deadly  uninteresting  ?  " 

"  Antonia  is  not  quite  in  earnest,  my  dear  Mrs.  Telfer ! " 
said  Mr.  Neuchamp,  remarking  Miranda's  wondering  look ; 
''  she  knows  well  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  live  up  to  a  high 
ideal  than  to  fall  below  it.  There  is  a  false  glamour  about 
men  like  Hayston,  I  admit,  by  which  people  who  are  swayed 
by  feeling  rather  than  reason  are  often  attracted." 

"  I  am  afraid  that  Captain  Hayston  was  a  wicked  man," 
said  Miranda,  "  though  I  can't  get  Hilary  to  tell  me  much 
about  him.  However,  there  were  very  different  accounts, 
some  describing  him  as  being  generous  and  heroic,  and 
others  as  cruel  and  unprincipled." 

"  Whatever  he  was,  there  was  no  doubt  about  his  being 
a  sailor  every  inch  of  him,"  said  Captain  Charley.  "  I  saw 
him  handle  his  ship  in  a  gale  of  wind  through  a  dangerous 
channel,  and  I  never  forgot  it." 

"I  suppose  he  had  his  faults  like  the  rest  of  us,"  said 


296  A    MODERN    BUCCANEER 

Mr.  Fraukston,  who  did  not  seem  inclined  to  pursue  the 
subject.  "Never  mind,  when  Frankston,  Telfer,  and  Co. 
get  the  control  of  the  South  Sea  Island  trade,  there  won't 
be  any  room  for  dashing  filibusters,  will  there,  Charley  ?  " 

"  I  hope  not ;  his  day  is  over,"  said  the  captain.  "  I  am 
sorry  for  him,  too,  for  he  was  one  of  the  grandest  men  and 
finest  seamen  God  Almighty  ever  permitted  to  sail  upon 
His  ocean.  Under  a  different  star  he  might  have  been  an 
ornament  to  the  service  and  an  honour  to  his  country." 

After  dinner  we  all  sat  out  on  the  broad  verandah,  where 
we  lighted  our  cigars,  and  enjoyed  the  view  over  the  sleep- 
ing waters  of  the  bay.  It  was  a  glorious  night,  undimmed 
by  mist  or  cloud.  The  harbour  lights  flamed  brightly, 
anear  and  afar,  while  steamers  passing  to  the  different 
points  of  the  endless  harbourage  lighted  up  the  glittering 
plain  with  their  variegated  lamps,  as  if  an  oi)eratic  effect 
were  intended. 

"  What  a  wondrous  sight !  "  said  Miranda.  "  It  certainly 
is  a  scene  of  enchantment,  though  it  loses  some  of  its  beauty 
in  my  eyes  from  being  so  restless  and  exciting.  There  is 
no  solitude ;  all  is  motion  and  effort,  as  is  the  city  by  day. 
Our  sea-view  is  as  still  and  silent  as  if  our  island  had  just 
been  discovered.  It  lends  an  air  of  solemnity  to  the  night 
which  this  brilliant,  many-coloured  vision  seems  to  want." 

"Antonia  and  I  enjoy  this  sort  of  thing  thoroughly," 
said  Mr.  Neuchamp;  "our  country  is  hot  and  dry  as  the 
summer  comes  on,  and  the  glare  is  something  to  remember. 
But  I  must  say  I  prefer  the  winter  of  the  interior.  The 
nights  are  heavenly,  the  mid-day  warm  without  being 
oppressive,  and  the  mornings  are  delightfully  cool  and 
bracing." 

"  As  weather  it  is  as  nearly  perfect  as  it  can  be,"  assented 
Mrs.  Neuchamp,  backing  up  her  husband.  "Then  the  rides 
and  drives  on  the  firm  sandy  turf  and  the  delightful  natural 
roads !     It's   nice  to  think  you  can   drive  thirty  or  forty 


A   SWIM   FOR   LIFE  297 

miles  in  any  direction  without  going  off  your  own  run. 
Miranda  must  come  and  stay  with  me  for  a  month  or  two 
wlien  you  get  settled,  Mr.  Telfer.  We  must  see  if  she 
can't  be  persuaded  to  leave  the  seaside  for  a  while." 

"We'll  make  up  a  party,"  said  Mr.  Frankston;  "it's  a 
long  time  since  I  have  seen  any  station  life.  I  had  half  a 
mind  to  try  squatting  once  myself.  But  I'm  like  Miranda 
—  I  don't  sleep  well  unless  I  can  hear  the  surge  in  the 
night ;  but  for  a  month  or  two,  in  May  or  June,  it  would 
be  great  fun,  and  do  us  all  good,  I  expect." 

"Yes,  my  dear  dad,"  said  his  daughter,  patting  his 
shoulder,  "  think  of  the  riding  and  driving.  You're  not  too 
old  to  ride,  you  know.  I'll  lend  you  Osmond  —  he's  my 
horse  now,  and  he's  a  pearl  of  hackneys.  I'll  ride  out  with 
you,  and  Ernest  can  take  Miranda  and  Courtenay  in  the 
four-in-hand  drag." 

"  Well,  that's  a  bargain,  my  dear ! "  said  her  father. 
"When  the  summer  is  over  and  the  autumn  has  nearly 
come  to  an  end,  and  the  nights  and  mornings  are  growing 
fresh  and  crisp,  that's  the  time  to  see  the  interior  at  its 
best.  I  haven't  forgotten  the  feel  of  a  bush-morning  at 
sunrise  ;  there's  something  very  exhilarating  about  it." 

"  Is  there  not  ?  "  replied  Mrs.  iSTeuchamp,  " '  as  you  see 
the  vision  splendid,  of  the  sunlit  plains  extended,'  an  ocean 
of  verdure.  You  trace  the  river  by  the  heavy  timber  on  its 
banks,  and  the  slowly-rising  mists  along  its  course.  Then 
the  sun,  a  crimson  and  gold  shield  against  the  cloudless 
azure,  the  cattle  low  in  the  great  river  meadows,  you  hear 
the  crack  of  a  stockwhip  as  the  horses  come  galloping  in  like 
a  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  the  day  has  begun.  It  seems 
like  a  new  world  awakening  to  life." 

"  I  know  a  young  woman,"  said  her  husband,  "  whose 
'  inward  eye '  by  no  means  made  '  the  bliss  of  solitude '  when 
she  first  went  into  the  bush." 

"That  was  because  I  was  newly  married  —  torn  away 


298  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

from  my  childhood's  home,  and  all  that,"  laughed  his  wife. 
•'  Besides,  you  used  to  stay  away  unconscionably  long  some- 
times ;  now  everything  looks  different.  You  will  have  to 
pass  through  that  stage,  my  dear  Miranda.  So  prepare 
yourself." 

"  I  am  svire  Hilary  will  never  stay  away  from  our  home 
unless  he  is  obliged ;  and  then  I  mvist  sew  and  sing  till  he 
comes  back,  like  my  countrywomen  at  Norfolk  Island  and 
Pitcairn  when  their  men  are  at  sea." 

"  A  very  good  custom,  too,"  said  Paul.  "  That  reminds 
me  that  we  must  have  some  music  to-night.  Antonia  will 
lead  the  way,  and  our  cigars  will  taste  all  the  better  in  the 
verandah." 

Mrs.  Neuchamp  had  a  fine  voice  and  a  fine  ear.  She  had 
been  well  taught,  and  played  her  own  accompaniments, 
while  she  sang  several  favourite  songs  of  her  father's,  and 
a  duet  with  her  husband. 

"Now,  it's  your  turn,  Miranda,"  said  Mr.  Frankston. 
"I've  heard  all  about  you  from  the  captain." 

"  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  sing,"  she  answered,  seating  her- 
self at  the  piano,  "if  you  care  for  my  simple  songs.  I 
have  always  been  fond  of  music,  but  our  poor  little  har- 
monium was,  for  a  long  time,  my  only  instrument.  What 
shall  I  sing  ?  " 

"  Sing  the  '  Lament  of  Susannah  M'Coy  for  her  drowned 
lover,' "  said  the  captain,  "  that  was  a  song  broiight  from 
Pitcairn,  wasn't  it  ?  I  always  liked  it  the  best  of  all  the 
island  sing  songs." 

"It  is  simple,"  replied  Miranda,  "but  it  is  true;  I  be- 
lieve the  poor  girl  used  to  sit  by  the  sea-shore  singing  it  at 
night,  and  died  of  grief  a  year  afterwards." 

She  struck  a  few  chords  on  the  grand  Erard  piano,  and 
commenced  a  wailing,  dirge-like  melody,  "  a  long,  low 
island  song,"  inexpressibly  mournful.  The  movement  was 
chiefly  low-toned,  and  in  the  minor  key,  but  at  times  it  rose 


A   aWlM   FOR   LIFE  299 

to  a  higher  pitch,  into  which  was  thrown  the  agonised 
sorrow  of  irrevocable  love,  the  endless  regret,  the  void 
immeasurable  and  eternal,  the  hopeless  despair  of  a  deso- 
lated existence. 

The  words  were  simple,  and  more  in  recitative  than 
rhythm.  There  was  a  certain  monotony  and  repetition, 
but  as  an  expression  of  passionate  and  hopeless  sorrow  it 
was  strangely  complete. 

The  tale  was  old  as  life  and  death,  as  love  and  joy,  hope 
and  despair.  The  maiden  watching  and  waiting,  during 
the  voyage  of  the  whaleship,  the  year  long  through.  The 
sudden  delight  of  the  vessel  being  sighted;  the  boats  going 
off ;  the  intensity  of  the  anxiety ;  the  returning  crew ;  the 
eager  scanning  of  the  passengers;  the  refusal  to  believe  in 
mischance ;  the  guarded  half-told  tale,  then  the  unmistak- 
able word  of  doom !  He  had  been  drowned  at  sea;  the  fear- 
less, fortunate  harpooner  had,  in  the  sudden  flurry  of  the 
death-stricken  whale,  been  thrown  overboard  and  stunned. 
When  the  half-capsized  boat  was  righted,  Johnnie  Mills 
was  missing!  They  rowed  round  and  round,  all  vainly, 
then  sadly  returned  to  the  vessel.  This  was  the  tale  they 
had  to  tell,  the  tale  Susannah  M'Coy  had  to  hear.  Her 
over-wrought  feelings  found  relief  in  the  "  Maiden's  La- 
ment," and  after  her  death  her  girl  companions  in  sing- 
ing it  preserved  the  memory  of  the  maiden  and  her  lover, 
of  his  doom  and  her  unhappy  fate. 

There  was  nothing  unusually  melodious  in  the  song  itself, 
but  as  the  low,  rich  notes  of  Miranda's  voice  struck  on  the 
ear  of  the  listeners,  those  who  had  not  heard  before  seemed 
spell-bound.  Not  a  motion  was  made,  not  a  sound  escaped 
them,  as  they  listened  with  an  intentness  which  said  far 
more  than  the  ready  and  general  praise  at  its  close.  Know- 
ing, as  I  did,  the  extraordinary  quality  of  her  voice,  I  had 
expected  that  some  such  effect  would  be  produced,  but  I 
hardly  reckoned  on  such  complete  and  universal  admiration. 


300  A   MODEKN    BUCCANEER 

When  the  cry  of  the  heartbroken  girl  rose  and  echoed 
through  the  large  room,  the  effect  was  electrical ;  the 
higher  notes  were  sweet  and  clear,  without  a  suspicion  of 
hardness,  and  yet  had  wondrous  under-tones  of  tears,  such 
as  I  never  heard  in  another  woman's  voice.  Long  before 
the  wailing  notes  had  faded  into  nothingness  Mrs.  Neu- 
champ's  eyes  were  wet.  While  old  Paul,  Mr.  Neuchamp, 
and  the  captain,  seemed  in  no  great  hurry  to  express  their 
approval. 

"That's  the  most  wonderful  song  I  ever  heard,"  said  the 
old  man.  "I've  heard  the  girls  in  Nukuheva  sing  one 
something  like  it,  and  there  are  notes  in  Miranda's  voice 
that  take  me  back  to  my  youth,  the  island  days,  and  the 
good  old  times  when  Pavil  Frankston  was  young  and  fool- 
ish. God's  blessing  on  them !  Miranda !  my  dear,  take  an 
old  man's  thanks.  I  foresee  that  I  shall  have  two  daugh- 
ters :  one  at  Marahmee  in  the  summer,  and  the  other  in  the 
winter,  when  Antonia  is  in  the  bush." 

After  this  no  one  would  hear  of  her  leaving  off.  She 
sang  other  songs  Avhich  were  not  all  sorrowful.  Some  had 
a  livelier  tone,  and  the  transient  gleam  which  lit  up  the 
dark  eyes  told  that  mirth  had  its  due  place  in  her  rich  and 
many-sided  nature. 

"  Would  you  like  to  hear  one  of  our  hymns  now  ?  "  she 
asked,  with  the  simplicity'  of  a  child.  ''We  used  to  sing 
them  in  parts,  and  many  a  night  when  the  moon  was  at  the 
full  did  we  sit  on  the  beach  and  sing  for  hours.  I  can  hear 
the  surge  now,  and  it  puts  me  in  mind  of  our  dear  old 
home." 

"  Oh,  by  all  means,"  said  Antonia,  and  without  further 
prelude,  she  began  a  well-known  hymn,  the  deep  tones  of 
her  voice  rising  and  falling  as  if  in  a  cathedral,  while  the 
organ-like  chords  which  she  evoked  from  the  Erard  favoured 
the  faultless  rendering.  We  involuntarily  joined  in,  and  I 
saw  Antonia  looking  admiringly  at  the  singer,  as  with  head 


A    SWIM   FOR   LIFE  301 

upraised,  and  all  the  fervour  of  a  mediaeval  penitent,  she 
poured  forth  a  volume  of  melodious  adoration. 

All  were  silent  for  some  seconds  after  the  last  cadence 
had  died  away.  At  length  the  pause  was  broken  by 
Antonia. 

"  After  that  lovely  hymn,  my  dear  Miranda,  let  me  first 
thank  you  warmly  for  the  pleasure  you  have  given  us  all, 
and  then  suggest  that  we  retire.  The  gentlemen  may  stay 
and  smoke  a  while  longer,  but  this  has  been  an  exciting 
day  for  us,  and  you  require  rest.  Besides,  you  have  to 
make  acquaintance  with  your  new  relations." 

"  A  sensible  suggestion,  my  darling,  "  said  Mr.  Frankston. 
"  So  we'll  say  good  night  to  Mrs.  Telfer  and  yourself.  We 
must  have  one  more  cigar  in  the  verandah  while  we  think 
over  that  great  song  of  hers." 


It  was  arranged  between  Mr.  Frankston  and  the  captain 
that  I  should  take  my  bride  to  my  old  home  on  the  morning 
after  next,  and  present  her  to  my  family.  It  might  have 
been  thought  that,  after  so  long  an  absence  from  my  parents, 
it  would  "have  been  more  in  keeping  with  filial  duty  to  have 
rushed  off  at  once  and,  in  a  manner,  cast  myself  at  their 
feet  like  the  prodigal.  But  that  unlucky,  yet  eventually 
fortunate  younger  son,  did  not  bring  a  wife  with  him,  in 
which  case  the  paternal  welcome  might  have  been  less 
distinct.  I  had  put  myself  in  the  hands  of  my  more  expe- 
rienced friends,  who,  as  men  of  the  world,  knew  the  value 
of  first  impressions. 

"  You  and  Miranda  will  be  all  the  better  for  a  day's  rest, 
and  a  little  cheering  up  at  Marahmee,"  had  said  the  captain. 
"  Antonia,  too,  will  see  that  your  sea  princess  is  properly 
turned  out,  and  fit  to  bear  inspection  by  the  ladies  of  the 
family.  They  won't  have  much  to  criticise,  I'll  be  bound. 
I'm  an  early  man,  so  I'll  go  and  breakfast  with  yoiu-  father, 


302  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

and  give  him  a  general  idea  of  your  doings  and  prospects. 
Yon  had  better  turn  up  about  mid-day.  It  will  be  high  tide 
then,  and  Miranda  will  see  Isola  Bella  at  its  best.  Come 
on  board  the  Florentia  first,  and  I'll  send  you  over  in  proper 
style." 

Acting  upon  this  prudent  advice,  Miranda  and  I  alighted 
from  the  Marahmee  carriage  at  the  Circular  Quay,  and  once 
more  set  foot  on  board  the  Florentia,  where  we  found  the 
captain  ready  to  receive  us.  He  made  us  come  down  into 
the  cuddy  and  partake  of  fruit  and  wine  (that  is,  Miranda 
took  the  first  and  I  the  latter),  while  he  gave  us  a  sketch 
of  his  interview  with  my  father. 


CHAPTER   XVTI 

"  OUR   JACK  'S    COME    HOME    TO-DAY  " 

"The  old  skipper  was  walking  in  the  garden,  glass  in 
hand.  I  knew  I  should  find  him  up,  though  it  was  soon 
after  sunrise.  No  fear  of  his  being  in  bed  and  the  sun  up. 
'  Hallo !  Carryall,'  he  said,  '  I  was  just  thinking  about 
you;  thought  I  could  make  out  the  Florentia  yesterday. 
What  sort  of  a  voyage  have  you  had,  and  what  luck  among 
the  right  whales  ? ' 

" '  Pretty  fair.  Rather  longer  out  than  I  expected,  but 
didn't  do  badly  after  all ;  had  some  trading  among  the 
islands  ;  cocoa-nut  oil  has  gone  up,  and  the  copra  I  got  will 
pay  handsomely.' 

" '  That's  good  news,'  he  said ;  '  and  look  here,  Carryall, 
my  boy,  I've  been  thinking  lately  that  a  very  paying 
business  might  be  put  together  by  going  in  regularly  for 
island  trading.  They're  ready  and  willing  to  take  our 
goods,  and  their  raw  material  —  oil,  copra,  fruit,  ever  so 
many  things  that  they  are  only  too  glad  to  sell  —  would 
pay  a  handsome  percentage  on  the  outlay.  What  is  wanted 
is  a  partner  here  with  capital,  a  few  ships  to  go  regularly 
round  the  islands,  and  a  manager  who  knows  the  language 
and  understands  the  natives.  If  I  were  a  little  younger, 
by  Jove  !  I'd  go  into  it  myself.  You'll  stay  and  break- 
fast with  us  of  course.  We're  not  late  people.  By  the 
by  you  haven't  heard  of  my  boy  in  your  travels,  have 
you?' 

303 


304  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

"  '  Well  1  have  heard  of  him,  and  — ' 

"'Heard  of  him!'  he  said,  not  giving  me  time  to  get 
further ;  '  where  ?  what  was  he  doing  ? ' 

" '  Well,  he  was  supercargo  on  board  the  Leonora  — 
Hayston's  brig.  They  had  been  at  Ocean  Island  just  before 
me.' 

"  '  Hayston,  Bully  Hayston  ?  '  the  old  man  said,  looking 
stern.  '  I'm  sorry  he  was  mixed  up  with  that  fellow.  A 
fine  seaman,  but  a  d — d  scoundrel,  from  all  I've  heard 
of  him  ;  what  were  they  doing  there  ?  However,  I  know 
young  fellows  must  buy  their  experience.  Perhaps  he's 
left  him  by  this  time.' 

"  '  The  Leonora  was  wrecked  in  Chabral  harbour,'  I  said, 
'  and  her  bones  lie  on  the  coral  reef  there.  She'll  never 
float  again.' 

'' '  Ha !  and  did  Hilary  get  off  safe  ?  I  suppose  it  was 
a  heavy  gale.     Heard  anything  of  him  since  ? ' 

« '  He  stayed  at  Moiit  for  some  time,'  I  said,  '  and  then 
was  lucky  enough  to  get  a  passage  to  Sydney  in  the  Eosario, 
but  he  left  her  at  Norfolk  Island.' 

"  '  Left  her  —  left  her  —  why  the  devil  didn't  he  come  on 
in  her,  and  see  his  old  father,  and  mother,  and  sisters? 
Hang  the  fellow,  has  he  no  natural  feeling  ?  Here  have 
we  been  wearing  our  hearts  out  with  anxiety  all  these 
years,  and  his  poor  mother  having  a  presentiment  (as  she 
calls  it)  that  he's  drowned  or  sold  into  slavery,  or  some- 
thing, and  d — mn  me,  sir !  the  young  rascal  goes  and  stays 
to  have  a  picnic  at  Norfolk  Island !  The  next  thing  we'll 
hear,  I  suppose,  is  that  he's  married  one  of  these  Pit- 
cairn  Island  girls.  Not  but  what  he  might  do  worse,  for 
I  never  saw  such  a  lot  of  fine-looking  lasses  in  my  life,  as 
I  did  the  last  time  I  was  there ;  and  as  good  as  they  are 
handsome,  by  George  !  But  to  stay  there,  so  near  home 
too!  If  I  didn't  know  that  he  was  a  good  boy,  and  as 
honest  as  the  day,  from  his  cradle  upwards,  I'd  say  he  was 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"  305 

an  unnatural  young —  But  I  won't  miscall  the  lad.  To 
stay  there  — ' 

"  '  But  he  didn't  stay  there,  captain.' 

"'What!'  he  roared,  'didn't  stay  there  —  went  back  to 
the  islands,  I  suppose,  to  have  a  little  more  beach-combing 
and  loafing  ?  Why  couldn't  he  have  come  home  when  he 
was  so  near  ?  He  might  have  thought  of  his  poor  mother, 
if  he  didn't  give  me  credit  for  caring  to  see  his  face  again.' 

"  And  here  the  old  skipper  frowned,  and  put  on  a  terribly 
stern  expression.  'Why,  he  might  have  come  home  and 
married  a  wife,  and  settled  down  and  been  the  comfort  of 
our  old  age.' 

" '  So  he  has ! '  I  said ;  '  that  is,  he  is  married,  and  he  has 
come  to  Sydney.' 

"'Married?  Come  to  Sydney?  How  can  that  be? 
Why  isn't  he  here  ?  Carryall,  my  boy,  you  wouldn't  play 
a  joke  on  an  old  man  ?  No,  sir !  you  wouldn't  dare  to  do 
it.     How  could  he  come  to  Sydney  and  be  married  ?  ' 

"  '  He  came  with  me  in  the  Florentia/  I  said, '  and  brought 
his  wife  with  him.'  And  here,  Miranda,  my  dear,  I  told 
him  what  a  very  unpleasant  young  woman  you  were,  and 
took  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  do  it ;  at  the  end  of 
which  narration  the  breakfast  bell  rang. 

" '  Come  into  the  house.  Carryall,'  he  said,  '  and  tell  it 
all  to  his  mother.  I'll  break  it  to  her  by  saying  that  you 
bring  news  of  Hilary,  and  that  he's  quite  well,  and  so  on, 
and  likely  to  come  home  soon.' 

"  So  we  went  in.  I  shall  never  forget  the  look  that 
came  into  your  mother's  eyes  when  the  skipper  said, '  Here's 
Captain  Carryall  straight  from  the  islands;  he's  brought 
you  girls  some  shells  and  curios  as  usual,  and  better  than 
that,  news  of  Hilary.' 

"  '  News  of  my  boy,  my  darling  Hilary  !  Good  news,  I 
hope.  Oh,  Captain  Carryall !  say  it's  good.  Oh !  where  is 
he,  and  what  was  he  doing  ? ' 


306  A   JMODERN   BUCCANEER 

"'It  is  good  news,  my  dear  lady,'  said  I,  'or  I  should 
not  have  come  over  to  tell  you.  I  saw  him  quite  lately  as 
near  Sydney  as  Norfolk  Island.' 

'' '  Of  course  he  was  coming  here  —  coming  here ;  he 
would  not  have  the  heart  to  stay  away  from  his  poor  father 
and  mother  any  longer,  when  he  was  so  near  as  that.  And 
was  he  quite  well  ?  Oh  !  my  boy  —  my  precious  Hilary  ! 
What  would  I  not  give  if  he  were  to  come  here  and  settle 
down  for  good  ?  ' 

" '  He  is  thinking  of  doing  so,'  I  said.  '  His  fixed  inten- 
tion was  to  marry  and  live  in  Sydney  for  the  rest  of  his 
days.' 

"  '  Thank  God !  thank  God  in  His  mercy  ! '  she  said, 
clasping  her  hands.  'And  do  you  think  he  will  be  here 
soon  —  how  many  weeks  ? ' 

"  '  It  will  not  be  a  matter  of  weeks,  but  days ;  I  know 
that  he  took  his  passage  in  a  certain  ship,  and  that  you 
may  expect  him  every  hour.' 

"Then  she  looked  keenly  at  me.  Your  mother  is  a 
clever  woman.  She  began  to  think  I  had  been  leading  her 
on. 

" '  You  are  not  treating  me  as  a  child,  Charles  Carryall, 
are  you  ?  My  son  is  here,  and  you  have  been  afraid  to  tell 
me  so.     Is  it  not  so  ? ' 

" '  Only  a  harmless  deception,  my  dear  Mrs.  Telfer. 
Your  son  and  his  wife  came  here  in  my  vessel.  They 
stayed  at  Paul  Frankston's  last  night,  and  will  be  here  at 
mid-day.' 

"The  dear  lady  looked  as  if  she  could  not  realise  it  for  a 
moment,  then  sat  back  in  her  chair,  and  raised  her  eyes  as 
if  in  prayer. 

"  One  of  the  girls  moved  as  if  to  support  her,  but  she 
waved  her  off.  '  No,  my  dear,  you  need  not  be  afraid.  I 
shall  not  faint ;  I  have  borne  many  things,  and  can  bear 
this.     I  am  returning  thanks  to  our  Almighty  Father,  who 


"  OUR    JACK  'S   COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  307 

has  restored  my  son  to  me.  "  My  son,  who  was  lost,  and  is 
found."  My  son,  who  was  dead  to  me,  and  is  now  restored 
to  life.  Oh,  God !  most  heartily  and  humbly  do  I  thank 
Thee  —  most  merciful  —  most  loving  ! ' 

"  After  this  we  were  a  very  happy  party.  The  girls,  of 
course.  Avanted  to  know  all  about  Miranda  here  "  —  here  my 
darling  smiled,  and  took  his  hand ;  "  I  dashed  off  a  sketch, 
and  some  day  you  can  ask  Mariana  and  Elinor  —  both 
great  friends  of  mine  they  are  —  if  it  is  a  good  likeness." 

"I  am  afraid  it  was  too  good,"  sighed  Miranda,  '-'and 
they  will  be  dreadfully  disappointed." 


The  end  of  it  was  that  we  left  the  FlorentiaaX  eight  bells, 
in  great  state  and  majesty,  in  a  whaleboat — upon  which 
Miranda  insisted,  despising  the  captain's  gig  as  a  trumpery 
skiff — and  a  picked  crew,  with  the  skipper  himself  as  the 
steer-oar. 

''That's  really  something  like,"  she  said,  as  she  stepped 
lightly  on  to  the  thwart.  "  If  there  was  a  little  swell  on, 
I  should  feel  quite  myself  again,  and  think  of  the  dear  days 
when  I  was  a  happy  little  island  girl,  bare-footed  and  bare- 
headed, and  thought  going  off  to  a  strange  vessel  through 
the  great,  solemn,  sweeping  rollers  the  wildest  enjoyment. 
But  I  am  a  happy  girl  now,"  she  added,  with  a  look  in  her 
deep  eyes  which  expressed  a  world  of  love  and  rich  con- 
tent ;  ^'only  the  thought  of  learning  to  be  a  lady  sometimes 
troubles  me." 

"You  will  never  need  to  do  that,''^  I  said. 

"  There  is  the  house  ?  "  I  cried ;  "  there's  Isola  Bella ! "  as 
we  rounded  a  point,  and  a  picturesque  stone  house  came 
full  into  view.  It  had  been  built  in  the  early  days  of  the 
colony  by  an  Imperial  officer,  long  resident  in  Italy,  and 
showed  the  period  in  its  massive  stone  walls,  Florentine 
facade,  and  wide,  paved  verandah.     The  site  was  elevated 


308  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

above  the  lake-like  waters  of  the  bay,  towards  which  a 
winding  walk  led,  terminating  in  a  massive  stone  pier,  into 
which  iron  rings  and  stanchions  had  been  let.  The  beach 
was  white  and  smooth,  though  the  tide  ran  high,  and  the 
wavelets  rippled  close  to  the  pale  sandstone  rocks,  which 
lent  a  tone  of  delicacy  and  purity  to  the  foreshore. 

The  weather-stained  walls  of  the  house  were  half  covered 
with  climbers,  a  wilderness  of  tropical  shrubs,  and  richly- 
blooming  flower-thickets.  There  were  glades  interspersed, 
carpeted  with  the  thick-swarded  couch  or  "  dhoub  "  grass, 
originally  imported  from  India,  and  which,  nourished  by 
the  coast  showers,  and  delighting  in  a  humid  atmosphere, 
preserves  its  general  freshness  of  colour  the  long  Austra- 
lian summer  through. 

I  had  been  so  preoccupied  with  speculations  as  to  Miran- 
da's reception  by  my  family,  that  my  own  emotions,  on 
returning  to  my  childhood's  home,  lay  in  abeyance.  Now, 
however,  at  the  near  view  of  the  house  —  the  pier,  the 
walled-in  sea-bath  —  the  scenes  and  adventures  of  my 
earliest  youth  came  back  with  overwhelming  force  and 
clearness.  There  was  the  boat-house,  into  which  I  had 
paddled  so  many  a  time  after  nightfall,  returning  from  fish- 
ing or  sailing  excursions.  There  was  the  flagstaff  on  which 
was  displayed  the  Union  Jack  and  other  flags  on  great 
occasions.  The  old  flag  floated  in  the  breeze  to-day.  I 
knew  for  what  reason  and  celebration.  I  could  see  my 
mother,  as  of  old,  walking  down  to  the  pier  to  welcome  and 
embrace,  or  to  remonstrate  and  fondly  chide  when  I  had 
remained  absent  in  stormy  weather.  How  many  fears  and 
anxieties  had  I  not  caused  to  agitate  that  loving  heart !  And 
my  stern  and  mostly  silent  parent  —  did  I  not  once  surprise 
him  in  scarce  dignified  sorrow  at  my  night-long  absence 
and  probable  untimely  decease.  Yet  all  his  words  were, 
"God  forgive  you,  my  boy,  for  the  misery  you  have  caused 
us  this  night." 


"  OUR   JACK  'S    COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  309 

And  now  the  years  had  passed  —  had  flown  rather,  crowded 
as  they  were  with  inci(U^iit  —  that  had  changed  the  heedless 
boy  into  the  man,  —  matured,  perhaps,  by  too  early  worldly 
knowledge,  and  the  grim  comradeship  of  danger  and  death. 
I  had  returned  safely,  bringing  my  sheaves  with  me  in  the 
guise  of  one  dearer  to  me  than  life.  I  had,  during  the 
intervals  of  reflection  I  had  lately  enjoyed,  repented  fully 
of  the  unconsciously  selfish  sins  of  my  youth,  and  was  fixed 
in  firm  resolve  to  atone,  so  far  as  in  me  lay,  by  care  and 
consideration  in  the  future. 

As  we  dashed  alongside  of  the  pier,  the  years  rolled  back, 
and  as  of  old  I  saw  my  mother  pacing  the  well-known  path 
to  the  boat.  She  was  followed  by  my  father  at  a  short  dis- 
tance. I  fancied  that  the  dear  form  told  of  the  lapse  of 
time,  in  less  firm  step  and  the  bent  figure  which  age  compels. 
My  father  was  erect  as  ever,  and  his  eye  swept  the  far  hori- 
zon of  outer  seas  as  of  old ;  but  surely  his  hair  and  beard 
were  whiter. 

Miranda's  step  was  first  upon  the  pier  —  she  needed  no 
help  in  leaving  or  entering  a  boat.  Side  by  side  we  walked 
to  meet  my  mother,  who,  with  a  sob  of  joy,  folded  me  in 
her  arms.  "  My  boy  !  my  boy ! "  was  all  she  could  articulate 
for  some  moments;  then,  gently  disengaging  herself,  "and 
this  is  my  new  daughter  ?  "  she  said.  "May  God  bless  and 
keep  you  both,  my  children,  and  preserve  for  us  the  great 
happiness  which  His  providence  has  ordained  this  day." 

"  Well,  neighbour ! "  in  the  well-remembered  greeting 
which  he  affected,  rang  out  here  my  father's  clear  tones,  "  and 
so  you  have  finished  your  cruise  for  a  while  I  What  a  man 
you  have  grown!"  he  exclaimed,  as  he  looked  upwards  half- 
admiringly  at  my  head  and  shoulders,  markedly  above  his 
own.  "Filled  out,  bronzed,  you  look  a  sailor,  man,  all 
over." 

"  And  so  you  wouldn't  give  the  Sydney  girls  a  chance, 
and  have  brought   a  wife  back  with   you  for  fear   there 


310  A    MODERN   BUCCANEER 

mightn't  be  a  '  currency  lass '  to  spare.  I  must  say  I 
admire  your  taste,  my  boy.  No  one  can  fault  that.  Wel- 
come, my  dear  Miranda,  to  your  own  and  your  husband's 
home.  Give  your  old  father  a  kiss  and  the  ceremony  is 
complete."  Here  the  governor  gravely  embraced  his  new 
daughter,  and  then,  holding  her  at  arm's  length,  regarded 
her  admiringly,  till  she  playfully  ran  back  to  the  girls. 
"  Charley  here  guarantees  she  is  as  good  as  she  is  hand- 
some. He  said  better,  indeed ;  but  that's  impossible.  No 
woman  with  her  looks  could  be  better  inside  than  out.  So, 
Hilary,  my  boy,  I  congratulate  you  on  your  choice.  You've 
fallen  on  your  feet  in  love  and  friendship  both,  according 
to  what  Carryall  tells  me  of  Paul  Frankston's  partnership  ar- 
rangement. And  now  we'll  come  up  to  the  house  and  drink 
the  bride's  health.  I  feel  as  if  I  needed  a  refresher  after  all 
this  excitement.  I  little  thought  when  I  saw  Charley  come 
over  so  early  what  was  in  store  for  us,  eh,  mother  ?  " 

Before  we  reached  the  house  the  two  girls,  Mariana  and 
Elinor,  had  taken  possession  of  Miranda  and  carried  her  up- 
stairs to  the  rooms  which  were  to  be  allotted  to  us  while  we 
dwelt  at  Isola  Bella.  "  Now  that  the  other  boys  are  up  the 
country,"  said  Mariana,  who  was  the  elder,  "  we  have  more 
houseroom  than  we  need.  So,  directly  we  heard  that  you 
were  in  Sydney,  Elinor  and  I  set  to  work  and  arranged 
these  two  rooms,  so  that  you  and  Miranda  should  be  quite 
independent.  There's  such  a  pretty  view  of  the  harbour. 
You  can  use  this  one  as  a  sitting-room,  and  there's  a  smaller 
dressing-room  which  he  can  make  a  den  of.  Men  always 
like  a  place  to  be  untidy  in." 

"  Oh,  how  nice  it  will  be,"  said  Elinor,  the  younger  one, 
whom  I  remember  a  curly-headed  romp  of  ten  when  I  left 
home,  "  to  have  a  mate  for  rowing  and  boat-sailing.  Mari- 
ana here  doesn't  care  for  boats,  and  dislikes  rough  weather. 
1  suppose  no  weather  would  frighten  you.  Oh,  what  lovely 
trips  we  shall  have,  and  mother  can't  be  nervous  when  you 
are  with  me." 


"OUK    jack's    come    JIOMK    TO-DAY  "  311 

"  I  suppose  you  think  Miranda  is  a  sort  of  mermaid," 
said  I,  now  arrived  and  joining  in  the  conversation,  "and 
impossible  to  be  drowned.  But  what  would  become  of  me 
if  anything  happened  to  her  ?  Do  you  think  I  can  trust 
her  with  you  ?  What  a  grand  room !  I  remember  it  well 
in  old  days  when  it  used  to  be  the  guest  cliamber.  I  was 
only  allowed  into  it  now  and  then,  and  always  under  inspec- 
tion.    I  feel  the  promotion." 

"Now,  we'll  run  away  and  leave  you,"  said  Mariana. 
"Lunch  is  nearly  ready;  you  will  hear  the  bell." 

We  sat  down  on  a  couch  and  gazed  into  each  other's  eyes 
with  clasped  hands.  The  harbour,  with  its  variously  com- 
posed fleet,  lay  wide  and  diversified  before  us.  Every  con- 
ceivable vessel  —  barge,  steamer,  collier,  skiff,  yacht,  and 
row-boat  —  made  progress  adown  and  across  its  waters. 
How  fair  a  scene  it  was  on  this,  one  of  the  loveliest  days 
which  sun  and  sky  and  wavelets  deep  ever  combined  to 
fashion  !  After  all  my  adventures  by  seas  and  lands  —  after 
all  the  sharp  contrasts  of  my  chequered  life  —  now  lotus- 
eating  amid  the  groves  or  by  the  founts  of  an  earthly  para- 
dise —  now  ignorant,  from  one  day  to  another,  of  the  hour 
when  the  death-knell  would  sound  —  now  free  and  joyous, 
handsomely  dressed,  in  foreign  seaports  with  ruffling  swag- 
ger and  chinking  dollars  —  anon  ragged,  shoeless,  ship- 
wrecked, and  forlorn  —  nay,  starving,  but  for  the  charity 
of  the  soft-hearted  heathens  whom  we  in  our  pride  are 
prone  to  despise. 

And  now  I  was  at  home  again.  Home  !  sweet  home  !  in 
fullest  sense  of  the  word  —  welcomed,  beloved,  feted ! 
What  had  I  done  to  deserve  this  love  and  trust  now  so 
profusely  showered  upon  me  ?  My  better  angel,  too,  my 
darling  Miranda,  by  my  side,  sharing  in  all  this  wealth  of 
affection.  How  could  I  have  foretold  that  such  good  for- 
tune would  be  mine,  all  unworthy  that  I  felt  myself,  when, 
bruised  and  bleeding,  I  was  hurled  ashore  in  the  midnight 


312  A   MODERN    BUCCANEER 

storm  from  the  wrecked  Leonora  ?  —  when  I  felt  in  thought 
the  deadly  shudder  which  ever  follows  the  scratch  of  the 
poisoned  arrow — when  I  sank  to  eternal  rest  (as  I  then 
supposed)  beneath  the  surf-tormented  shore  of  the  island  ? 
How  had  I  jostled  death,  disease,  danger  in  every  form  and 
shape,  —  and  now,  almost  without  thought  or  volition  of 
my  own,  I  was  placed  in  possession  of  all  those  things  for 
which  through  a  long  life  so  many  men  toil  and  struggle 
vainly  and  iiusuccessfully. 

"  Thank  God !  thank  God ! "  I  exclaimed  aloud  involun- 
tarily, for  truly  our  hearts  were  filled  in  that  hour  of  realised 
peace  and  happiness  with  grateful  wonder. 

"  Let  us  give  Him  thanks, "  whispered  Miranda,  "  who 
only  has  done  this  wondrous  thing  for  us." 

********* 

Captain  Carryall,  my  father,  and  Mr.  Fraukston  were  men 
of  action  —  all  through  their  lives  the  deed  had  followed 
quick  on  the  resolve.  Thus,  within  a  week  after  our 
arrival,  premises  were  purchased  on  the  shore  of  the  bay ; 
stores  and  warehouses  were  planned,  while  upon  an  office 
in  the  chief  business  centre  of  Sydney,  at  no  great  distance 
from  Macquarie  Square,  a  legend  of  the  period  presented 
the  firm  of  "Carryall,  Telfer,  and  Company,  South  Sea 
merchants  and  purchasers  of  island  produce."  This  was 
the  commencement,  as  it  turned  out,  of  a  prosperous  mer- 
cantile enterprise,  ramifying  in  divers  directions.  It  was 
arranged  not  only  to  purchase  or  to  ship  on  commission  the 
raw  material  so  easily  procurable,  but  to  advance  on  whal- 
ing and  trading  ventures ;  the  projectors,  better  equipped 
with  experience  than  capital,  being  always  willing  to  pay 
high  interest,  for  which  indeed  the  margin  of  profit  amply 
provided.  Here  I  was  in  my  element,  whether  directing 
labourers,  interviewing  seamen,  shouting  in  the  vernacular 
to  the  native  crews,  or  calculating  the  value   of   cargoes. 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"'  313 

My  father  came  over  every  other  clay  to  watch  me  at  my 
work,  and  of  my  style  of  management  he  was  pleased  to 
express  approval.  "  You  have  not  altogether  wasted  your 
time,  my  boy,"  he  said  one  day.  "  The  great  thing  in  all 
these  matters  is  energy.  With  that  and  reasonable  experi- 
ence a  man  is  sure  to  be  successful  in  a  new  country  — 
indeed  in  any  country.  Pluck  and  perseverance  mean 
everything  in  life.  Never  despair.  You  know  our  family 
motto  —  Fortuna  favet  fortihus.  And  you  would  smile  if  I 
told  you  how  often  in  the  history  of  my  life  a  bold  bid  for 
fame  or  fortune  has  been  my  only  resource." 

Whether  I  had  exhibited  the  proverbial  fortitude,  or 
whether,  indeed,  the  capricious  goddess  was  mollified  in  my 
case,  cannot  with  certainty  be  decided.  The  fact,  however, 
was  there,  that  our  luck,  from  whatever  cause,  was  in  the 
ascendant,  inasmuch  as  business  of  a  profitable  nature 
began  to  pour  in  upon  us.  The  average  gains  beyond  ex- 
penses were  so  apparent  that  it  was  evident  that  before 
long  we  should  be  in  a  position  to  set  up  housekeeping  on 
our  own  account. 

In  the  mean  time  nothing  could  be  more  harmonious  and 
satisfactory  than  our  composite  home  life  at  Isola  Bella, 
difficult  as  it  is  sometimes  to  arrange  the  housing  of  two 
families,  however  closely  related,  under  one  roof.  The 
natural  amiability  of  Miranda's  nature  fortunately  pre- 
vented the  slightest  friction.  Constitutionally  anxious  to 
please,  it  was  the  chief  article  of  her  simple  faith  to  seek 
the  happiness  of  others  rather  than  her  own.  Prompt  in 
compliance,  eager  to  learn  all  minor  matters  with  which 
she  had  been  necessarily  unacquainted,  ready  to  join  in  the 
harmless  mirth  of  the  hour,  or  to  tell  of  the  wonders  of  her 
island  home,  she  was,  as  all  agreed,  a  constant  source  of 
interest  and  entertainment. 

More  than  all,  her  pervading,  fervent,  religious  faith  en- 
deared her  to  the  pious  heart  of   my  dearest   mother,   in 


314  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

whose  visits  to  the  poor  and  in  charitable  ministrations  she 
was  by  choice  her  constant  companion  ;  while  her  unfeigned 
pity  for  the  half-fed,  half-clothed  children  of  the  neglected 
classes  with  which  every  city  abounds  excited  my  mother's 
wonder  and  admiration. 

"  Your  wife  is  a  pearl  of  womanhood,  my  dear  Hilary," 
she  would  say  to  me.  "  You  are  a  good  boy ;  I  hope  you 
are  worthy  of  her.  I  can  hardly  think  that  any  man  could 
be.  When  you  see  the  women  so  many  men  are  fated  to 
pass  their  lives  with,  you  have  indeed  reason  to  be  thank- 
ful." 

"  So  I  am,  my  dear  old  mother,"  I  would  say.  "  Every 
day  I  feel  minded  to  sing  a  song  of  joy  and  gratitude.  I 
feel  as  life  was  a  new  discovery  and  creation.  I  am  in  a 
Paradise  where  no  serpent  that  ever  crawled  has  power  to 
harm  my  Eve.  I  feel  sometimes  as  if  there  was  an  unreal 
perfection  about  it  all,  too  bright  to  last." 

So  indeed  it  appeared  to  me  at  that  time.  Fully  employed 
as  I  was  by  day  and  in  the  exercise  of  all  the  faculties 
that  my  island  life  had  served  to  train,  it  was  impossible 
to  overtask  the  health  of  mind  and  body  in  which  I  rev- 
elled. I  was  sensible,  too,  that  the  joint  enterprise  upon 
which  I  had  embarked  was  growing  and  improving  daily, 
while  much  of  its  success  was  attributed  by  Mr.  Frankston 
and  Captain  Carryall  to  my  management.  At  night,  when 
I  returned  there  was  one  who  never  failed  to  catch  sight  of 
my  skiff  when  half  across  the  bay.  Then  our  family  even- 
ings, cheered  with  song  and  harmless  mirth,  were  truly 
restful  after  the  labours  of  the  day. 

Our  neighbours,  too,  with  all  the  old  friends  of  the 
family,  seemed  desirous  to  welcome  the  son  of  the  house 
who  had  been  so  long  absent,  and  had  wandered  so  far. 
Whether  from  curiosity,  or  a  higher  feeling,  they  were 
equally  anxious  to  call  upon  "  the  son's  wife."  The  posi- 
tions, and   dispositions,   manners,   and   habitudes    of    the 


"  OUR   JACK  'S   COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  315 

different  types  were  well  explained  to  Miranda  by  my 
socially-experienced  sisters,  so  that  she  was  saved  from 
any  misapprehension  which  might  so  easily  have  arisen. 

Our  friends  the  Neuchamps,  too,  were  often  with  us,  and 
made  the  greater  part  of  our  quiet  recreations.  On  alter- 
nate Sundays  nothing  would  content  Mr.  Frankston  short 
of  our  all  dining  with  him,  to  be  sent  back  in  his  sailing 
boat  if  the  weather  was  favourable,  or  to  remain  for  the 
night  in  the  ample  guest-chambers  of  JNIarahmee  if  other- 
wise. 

Our  Saturday  afternoons,  indeed,  were  almost  entirely 
devoted  to  picnics  and  cruises  in  his  yacht,  at  which  time 
he  insisted  upon  Miranda  steering,  or,  as  he  said,  taking 
command,  at  which  times  he  was  always  loud  in  admiration 
of  her  nautical  skill  —  declaring,  indeed,  that  she  was  tit 
to  take  charge  of  any  vessel  in  Her  Majesty's  navy. 

We  had  also  seen  a  good  deal  of  our  fellow  passengers, 
Mr.  and  Miss  Vavasour,  who,  after  a  first  introduction,  were 
always  included  in  Mr.  Frankston's  Saturday  picnic  invita- 
tions. That  lively  damsel  professed  a  great  admiration  for 
Mr.  Frankston,  who  responded  so  promptly  that  Antonia 
reproached  him  for  turning  faithless  to  Miranda. 

"  It's  his  nature,  he  can't  help  it,"  she  said. 

"But  Miss  Vavasour  will  have  some  day  to  suffer  what- 
ever pangs  are  supposed  to  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  deserted 
fair ;  then  she  will  repent  of  her  fascinations." 

"  Not  at  all  —  sufficient  for  the  day,  you  know.  I  begin 
to  think  that  one's  admirers  ought  to  be  past  their  first 
youth.  They're  more  thoroughly  appreciative.  'On  his 
frank  features  middle  age  Had  scarcely  set  its  signet  sage,' 
and  so  on.  I'm  sure  that  quite  describes  Mr.  Frankston. 
How  should  you  like  me  for  a  mamma-in-law,  Mrs.  JSTeu- 
champ  ?  Marahmee  is  such  a  dear  house,  and  these  yacht- 
ing parties  are  all  that  are  wanted  to  make  life  perfect." 

"  I  give  my  consent,"  said  Antonia,  "  but  beware  of  delay. 


316  A   MODERISI    BUCCANEER 

'Men  were  deceivers  ever/  and  if  you  wait  more  than  a 
fortnight  your  charms  will  be  on  the  wane,  so  I  warn 
you." 

"I  like  decision,"  responded  Miss  Vavasour,  "but  per- 
haps '  two  weeks,'  as  our  American  friend  used  to  say,  is 
rather  hurried  legislation.  The  trousseau  business  and  the 
milliner's  objections  would  be  fatal.  Even  Miranda  must 
have  stood  out  for  a  longer  respite.  How  long  did  you 
take,  Miranda,  dear  ?  You're  the  pattern  woman,  you  know, 
the  first  girl  I  ever  saw  that  men  and  women  equally 
delighted  to  honour." 

Miranda  blushed  charmingly,  then  looking  up  with  her 
clear,  frank  eyes,  that  always  appeared  to  me  to  be  foun- 
tains of  truth,  as  she  replied  — 

"  Hilary  and  I  were  married  just  a  month  after  he  asked 
me  to  be  his  wife,  you  know  very  well." 

So,  jesting  lightly,  and  with  a  breeze  that  sufficed  just 
to  fill  the  great  sails  of  the  yacht,  we  glided  along  until  we 
had  explored  the  recesses  of  Middle  harbour,  —  a  spacious 
inlet  winding  amid  the  thick  growing  semi-tropical  forest 
which  clothed  the  slopes  of  the  bays  and  promontories  to 
the  water's  edge. 

Here  and  there  were  small  clearings  in  which  might  be 
discovered  a  tent  or  cabin,  just  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  a 
couple  of  bachelors  or  a  hermit,  who  here  desired  to  live 
during  his  holiday  amid  this  "  boundless  contiguity  of 
shade  "  —  "  The  world  forgetting,  and  the  world  forgot." 

"  Oh,  how  lovely ! "  said  Mrs.  Percival,  as  we  swept  round 
a  point  and  came  suddenly  upon  a  fairy-like  nook,  a  tiny 
bay  with  milk-white  strand  and  fantastic  sandstone  rocks. 
There  was  a  fenced  enclosure  around  a  cabin.  There  was 
a  boat,  with  rude  stone  pier  and  boat-house.  The  owner,  in 
cool  garb  and  broad-leafed  sombrero,  was  seated  on  a  rock 
reading,  and  occasionally  dabbling  his  bare  feet  in  the  rippling 
tide.     As  the  yacht  glided  past  in  the  deep  water  which 


"  OUR   JACK  'S   COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  317 

came  so  close  to  his  possessions,  he  raised  his  hat  to  the 
ladies,  and  resumed  his  studies. 

"What  a  picture  of  peace  and  restful  enjoyment!"  said 
Mrs.  Craven.  "How  I  envy  men  who  can  seclude  them- 
selves like  this  within  an  hour's  sail  from  a  city !  Now, 
people  are  so  fond  of  generalising  about  colonists,  and  how 
wrong  they  are  !  They  always  describe  them  as  wildly 
energetic  and  restless  people,  perpetually  rushing  about  in 
search  of  gain  or  gold." 

"  That's  Thorndale,"  said  one  of  the  younger  guests. 
"He  works  hard  enough  at  his  business  when  he  is  about 
it,  but  his  notion  of  enjoyment  is  to  come  here  on  a  Satur- 
day with  only  a  boat-keeper,  to  hsh,  and  read,  and  smoke 
till  Monday  morning,  when  he  goes  back  to  his  law  and  his 
office." 

"  Sensible  fellow  ! "  said  the  colonel.  "  There's  nothing 
like  tent  life  to  recruit  a  man's  health  after  a  spell  of  offi- 
cial work.  We  used  to  manage  that  in  India,  when  we 
couldn't  go  all  the  way  to  the  hills,  by  forming  small  en- 
campments of  a  dozen  or  twenty  fellows,  having  a  mess- 
house  in  common,  and  living  in  tents  or  huts  separately 
when  we  were  not  hunting  or  shooting.  Splendid  life  while 
it  lasted  !  Sent  us  back  twice  the  men  we  were,  when  we 
left  the  lines  ! " 

We  anchored  for  lunch  in  one  of  the  fairy  nooks  of  which 
that  enchanted  region  is  so  lavish.  There  was  tea  for  the 
ladies  and  something  presumably  stronger  for  the  seniors. 
We  had  mirth  and  pleasantries,  spoken  and  acted  —  all 
went  merrily  in  that  charmed  sunshine  and  beneath  the 
shadowy  sea-woods.  We  had  songs  —  '*  A  mellow  voice 
Fitz  Eustace  had"  —  that  is,  one  of  the  young  fellows, 
native  and  to  the  manner  born,  lifted  up  his  tuneful  pipe 
and  made  us  all  laugh,  the  air  he  sang  being  certainly  not 
"  wild  and  sad,"  —  the  reverse,  indeed. 

"  Now,  is  not  this  an  ideal  picnic,  —  a  day  rescued  from 


318  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

that  terrible  fiend  Ennui,  that  haunts  us  all  ?  "  cried  Miss 
Vavasour.  "I  might  truthfully,  perhaps,  except  myself, 
who  am  frivolous,  and  therefore  easily  amused  —  but  of 
course  it  sounds  well  to  complain  and  be  mysterious.  But, 
really,  this  is  life  indeed !  The  climate  makes  up  for  any 
little  deticiency.  I  shall  positively  go  home  and  arrange 
my  affairs,  make  sure  of  my  allowance  being  paid  quarterly, 
then  take  a  cottage  near  Miranda,  on  that  sweet  North 
Shore,  —  isn't  that  what  you  call  it  ?  —  and  live  happy  ever 
afterwards  like  a  'maid  of  Llangollen.'" 

"  Nothing  can  be  nicer,"  said  Mrs.  Neuchamp.  "  We'll 
all  three  live  here  in  the  summer,  within  reach  of  the  sea- 
breeze.  In  June  you  must  come  up  and  stay  with  me  at 
Rainbar ;  then  you  will  know  what  the  glory  of  winter  in 
our  Riverina  is  like." 

The  breeze  freshened  as  we  glided  swiftly  on  our  home- 
ward course.  We  had  expended  most  of  the  daylight 
before  we  left  our  fairy  bower.  Sunset  banners  flared  o'er 
the  western  horizon.  "White  and  golden-crimson,  blue," 
fading  imperceptibly  into  the  paler  tones,  and  swift-appear- 
ing shades  which  veil  the  couch  of  the  day  god.  The  stars 
tremulously  gleamed  at  first  timidly,  then  brightly  scin- 
tillating in  pure  and  clustered  radiance.  Our  merry  con- 
verse had  gradually  lessened,  then  ceased  and  died  away. 
All  seemed  impressed  by  the  solemnity  of  the  hour  —  the 
hush  of  sea  and  land  —  the  shimmering  phosphorescent 
sparkle  of  the  silver-seeming  plain  over  which  we  swept  all 
swift  and  silently.  Then  the  lights  of  the  city,  brilliant, 
profuse,  widely  scattered  as  in  a  lower  firmament ! 

Miss  Vavasour  sat  with  Miranda's  hand  in  hers.  "  How 
lovely  to  live  in  an  hour  like  this,  and  yet  it  is  like  this 
with  such  surroundings  that  I  should  like  to  die." 

"Hush!"  said  Miranda,  "we  must  all  die  when  God 
wills  it.     It  is  not  good  to  talk  so,  my  dear." 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"  319 

During  the  next  week  our  good  friends  and  fellow-pas- 
sengers of  the  Florentia  were  to  leave  us  on  their  return 
voyage.  We  arranged  to  meet  as  often  as  we  could  manage 
the  leisure,  and,  as  it  happened,  there  was  to  be  a  ball  at 
Government  House  —  one  of  the  great  functions  of  the 
season,  which,  it  was  decided,  would  be  an  appropriate 
conclusion  to  our  comradeship.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neuchamp 
were  going  back  to  their  station,  Captain  Carryall  was 
under  sailing  orders,  and  our  friends  the  Colonel  and  Mrs. 
Percival  were  leaving  for  India  and  "going  foreign" 
generally. 

Miranda  was  not  eager  to  attend  the  extremely  grand, 
and,  as  far  as  she  was  concerned,  strange  entertainment. 
But  the  whole  party  were  most  anxious  for  her  to  make  her 
appearance  in  public  —  at  least  on  that  occasion.  Partly 
from  natural  curiosity,  partly  on  account  of  my  wishes, 
and  my  sisters'  and  Mrs.  Neuchamp's  strong  persuasion, 
she  consented  —  pleading,  however,  to  be  relieved  from  all 
anxiety  on  the  score  of  her  dress. 

"Oh!  we'll  take  that  responsibility,"  said  Elinor.  "An- 
tonia  Neuchamp  is  generally  admitted  to  dress  in  perfect 
taste.  We'll  compose  a  becoming  ball-dress  amongst  us  or 
die — something  simple  and  yet  not  wholly  out  of  the 
fashion,  and  becoming  to  Miranda's  style  of  beauty." 

"  I'm  afraid  you'll  make  me  vain,"  she  answered,  smiling. 
"  What  will  you  do  if  I  spend  all  Hilary's  money  on  dress  ? 
However,  it  must  be  a  lovely  sight.  I  have  read  of  balls 
and  grand  entertainments,  of  course,  and  when  I  was  a  girl 
longed  to  be  able  to  take  part  in  them.  Now  that  I  am 
married,"  and  here  she  gazed  at  me  with  those  tender, 
truthful  eyes,  "  I  seem  not  to  care  for  mere  pleasure.  It 
leads  to  nothing,  you  know." 

"You  are  going  to  be  a  pattern  wife,  Miranda,  I  see," 
said  Mariana,  my  elder  sister.  "  You  must  not  spoil  Hilary, 
you  know.    He  will  think  he  is  the  only  man  in  the  world." 


320  A   MODERN    BUCCANEEll 

"  And  is  he  not  for  me  ? "  she  asked,  eagerly.  Then 
blushing  at  the  quick  betrayal  of  her  inmost  heart,  she 
added,  "Should  it  not  be  so?  Are  civilised  people  in  a 
great  city  anxious  to  attract  admiration  even  after  they  are 
married  ?  " 

"There  are  people  who  do  this  and  more  in  all  societies, 
my  dear,"  said  my  mother,  with  a  seriousness  which  rebuked 
our  inclination  to  smile  at  Miranda's  ignorance  of  the  world. 
"  But  do  you,  my  dear  child,  cling  fast  to  the  faith  in  which 
you  have  been  reared.  You  will  neither  be  of  them  nor 
among  them  that  follow  the  multitude  to  do  evil." 

"  I  don't  think  there  is  as  much  evil  in  Miranda  as  would 
fill  a  teaspoon,"  said  Elinor.  "This  isle  of  hers  must  have 
been  a  veritable  Eden,  or  she  must  have  come  down  from 
the  moon,  dear  creature.  You  must  be  very  good  to  deserve 
her,  I  can  tell  you.  Master  Hilary." 

********* 

The  day  arrived,  the  night  of  which  was  to  realise  all 
manner  of  rose-coloured  visions,  in  which  the  youth  and 
maidens  of  Sydney  had  for  weeks  indulged.  It  was  to  be 
the  ball  of  the  season.  The  grand  entertainment  at  which 
a  royal  personage,  who  had  arrived  in  a  man-of-war  but 
recently,  had  consented  to  be  present !  The  officers  of  the 
squadron  were,  of  course,  invited.  They  were  gratified  that 
the  ball  was  fixed  for  a  week  previous  to  their  sailing  on 
an  extended  cruise  among  the  islands.  As  it  happened,  too, 
the  great  pasto/al  section  —  the  proprietors  of  the  vast 
estates  of  the  interior  —  were  still  at  their  clubs  and  hotels, 
not  yet  departed  for  their  annual  sojourn  amid  the  limitless 
wastes  of  "  The  Bush."  The  jeunesse  doree  of  the  city,  the 
flaneurs,  and  civil  servants  who,  like  the  poor,  are  "  alwa3^s 
with  us,"  were  specially  available.  Lastly,  the  Governor's 
Avife  had  openly  stated  tliat  she  wished  to  show  her  friends, 
the  Percivals,  what  we  could  do  in  Sydney.  And  she  was 
not  a  woman  to  fail  in  any  of  her  undertakings. 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"  321 

It  was  arranged  that  we  should  comply  with  Paul  Frank- 
ston's  imperious  mandate,  and  meet  at  Marahmee  early  in 
the  day  for  the  greater  convenience  of  driving  thence  to 
Government  House,  instead  of  taking  steamboat  from  the 
North  Shore.  All  our  plans  prospered  exceedingly.  The 
day  was  calm  and  fair ;  the  night  illumined  by  the  soft  radi- 
ance of  the  moon.  We  dined  in  great  peace  and  content- 
ment, the  ladies  having  devoted  —  as  it  appeared  to  me  — 
the  greater  portion  of  the  afternoon  to  the  befitting  adorn- 
ments of  their  persons.  We  were  all  in  good  spirits.  I  had 
reason  indeed  to  be  so,  for  that  day  I  had  concluded  a  highly 
profitable  trade  arrangement,  which  augured  well  for  my . 
future  mercantile  career. 

"What  a  glorious  night ! "  said  Paul  Frankston.  "Don't 
be  afraid  of  that  Moselle,  Ernest,  it's  some  of  my  own  im- 
porting— a  rare  wine,  as  most  judges  think.  Do  you  remem- 
ber the  ball^  we  went  to,  Antonia,  given  by  that  fellow 
Schafer  ?  Such  a  swell  he  looked,  and  how  well  he  did  the 
thing!  He  has  different  quarters  now,  if  all's  true  that 
we  hear." 

"  The  poor  Count ! "  answered  Mrs.  Neuchamp,  "  I  can't 
help  feeling  sorry  for  him  though  he  was  an  imposter.  Is 
it  really  true  that  they  put  him  in  prison  in  Batavia  ? 
What  a  fate  after  such  a  brilliant  career ! " 

"  Carryall  was  there  last  year  and  saw  him.  Got  an 
order,  yon  know,  from  the  Dutch  authorities.  Said  he  was 
fairly  cheerful;  expected  to  be  out  in  three  years." 

"  He  was  very  near  not  being  imprisoned  in  Batavia  or 
anywhere  else,"  interposed  Mr.  Neuchamp,  with  some  show 
of  asperity.  "  If  Jack  Windsor  had  come  up  a  little  earlier 
in  the  fray  we'd  have  broken  the  scoundrel's  neck,  or  other- 
wise saved  the  hangman  a  task." 

"Now,  Ernest,  you  mustn't  bear  malice,"  said  his  wife, 
reprovingly  ;  "  after  all  it  was  Harriet  FoUeton  and  not  me 
whom  he  wished  to  carry  off.     It  was  an  afterthought  try- 

T 


322  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

ing  to  make  me  accompany  lier.  But  '  all's  well  that  ends 
well.'     He  has  paid  for  his  misdeeds  in  full." 

"Not  half  as  much  as  he  deserves,"  growled  Neuchamp, 
who  evidently  declined  to  perceive  the  humorous  side  of  the 
affair  —  the  attempted  abduction  of  an  imprudent  beauty 
and  heiress,  besides  the  ultra-felonious  taking  away  of  Miss 
Frankston,  as  she  was  then  —  as  a  pendant  to  a  career  of 
general  swindling  and  imposture  practised  upon  the  good 
people  of  Sydney.  Mr.  Frankston's  eyes  began  to  glitter, 
too,  at  the  reminiscence.     So  the  conversation  was  changed. 

''I  really  believe  that  women  never  wholly  repudiate 
•  admiration,"  continued  Mr.  Neuchamp,  reflectively,  "how- 
ever unprincipled  and  abandoned  the  *  first  robber '  may  be. 
It's  a  curious  psychical  problem." 

"You  know  that  is  untrue,  Ernest,"  quoth  Mrs.  Neu- 
champ, with  calm  decision.  "  Don't  let  me  hear  you  say 
such  things."  An  hour  later  our  carriages  had  taken  up 
position  in  the  apparently  endless  line  of  vehicles  which 
stretched  along  Macquarie  Street  and  the  lamplit  avenues 
which  led  to  it.  After  nearly  an  hour's  waiting,  as  it 
seemed  to  me,  we  drove  through  the  lofty  freestone  gate- 
way which  led  to  the  viceregal  mansion,  and  descended 
within  the  portico,  amid  a  guard  of  honour  and  attendant 
aides-de-camp.  Passing  through  a  vestibule,  and  being  duly 
divested  of  wraps  in  the  cloak-rooms,  we  were  finally  ushered 
into  the  Viceroy's  presence,  and  duly  announced. 

Paul  Frankston  took  the  lead,  with  Miranda  on  his  arm. 
I  followed  with  Mrs.  Neuchamp,  whose  husband  escorted 
my  sisters.  As  we  were  announced  by  name,  I  noticed 
that  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Percival,  with  a  few  other  people  of 
distinction,  were  standing  on  the  dais,  close  to  the  Governor 
and  Lady  Rochester,  the  latter  talking  to  a  young  man  in 
naval  uniform,  whom  I  conjectured  to  be  the  Prince.  As 
we  approached  I  saw  Mrs.  Percival  speak  to  Lady  Roches- 
ter, who  at  once  came  forward  and  greeted   us   warmly. 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"  323 

''  Mr.  Frankston,"  she  said,  "  I  know  the  Governor  wishes 
to  talk  to  you  about  the  fortifications ;  will  you  and  your 
party  come  up  here  and  stay  with  us.  And  so  this  is  Mrs. 
Telfer,  the  heroine  of  my  friend,  Mrs.  Percival's  romance ! 
I  am  delighted  to  see  her  and  congratulate  you,  Mr.  Telfer, 
on  bringing  us  such  a  sea  princess  for  your  bride.  She  has 
all  the  air  of  it,  I  declare." 

Miranda  secured  a  seat  near  Mrs.  Percival,  who  watched 
with  pleasure  her  evident  admiration,  mingled  with  a  cer- 
tain awe,  of  the  brilliant,  unaccustomed  scene  before  her. 
Much  to  her  relief  Miss  Vavasour  came  up  with  the  Cra- 
vens, and  commenced  a  critical  review  of  Miranda's  and 
other  dresses,  which  soon  obliterated  all  trace  of  timidity 
and  strangeness. 

"  Well,  ray  princess,"  began  Miss  Vavasour,  "  and  how 
does  this  gay  and  festive  scene  strike  you  ?  Isn't  it  a  fairy 
tale  —  a  dream  of  the  Arabian  Nights?  Don't  you  expect 
to  see  the  fairy  godmother  come  when  the  clock  strikes 
twelve,  and  your  carriage  turn  into  a  pumpkin  and  white 
mice  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  scene  of  enchantment,"  said  Miranda.  "  I  hardly 
expected  anything  so  dazzlingly  beautiful.  How  the  naval 
uniforms  seem  to  light  up  the  throng,  and  the  soldiers  too. 
I  don't  wonder  at  all  the  pretty  things  we  read  about  them 
in  books." 

"  Yes,  they  do  strike  the  unaccustomed  eye,"  said  Miss 
Vavasour.  "I  wish  I  saw  them  for  the  first  time.  I'm 
afraid  I'm  growing  old.  Oh!  my  coming-out  ball!  I 
didn't  sleep  for  a  week  before  in  anticipation  of  delicious 
joy,  or  a  week  after  in  retrospection.  Ah !  me,  my  youth 
is  slipping  away  unsatisfied,  I  much  fear.  And  now,  unless 
my  eyes  deceive  me,  we  are  going  to  have  the  first  quadrille. 
Miranda,  we  must  show  these  good  people  that  we  dance  in 
our  island.     How  about  partners  and  a  vis-a-vis? " 

We  were  not  left  long  in  doubt.     One  of  the  aides-de- 


324  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

camp,  a  gorgeous  apparition  in  gold  and  scarlet,  came  up 
bowing,  and  intimated  his  Royal  Highness'  wish  to  dance 
with  Mrs.  Telfer.  This,  of  course,  was  equivalent  to  a 
command.  I  looked  for  some  indecision  or  hesitation  on 
the  part  of  Miranda.  But  it  appeared  to  her  evidently  just 
as  much  a  part  of  the  proceedings  as  if  (as  had  happened 
before)  she  had  been  asked  to  dance  with  the  captain  of  a 
man-of-war  at  one  of  their  island  fetes,  where  waltz,  qua- 
drille, and  polka  had  long  been  familiar.  I  had  provided 
myself  with  an  enviable  partner  in  the  shape  of  Mrs.  Neu- 
champ  ;  and  her  husband  having  promptly  arranged  matters 
with  Miss  Vavasour,  we  betook  ourselves  to  the  next  set, 
where  we  had  a  full  view  of  the  viceregal  party.  My 
sisters  had  apparently  no  difficulty  in  deciding  between 
several  aspirants  for  their  respective  hands,  as  they  and 
their  partners  helped  to  make  up  the  set. 

When  the  melodious  crash  broke  forth,  in  commence- 
ment from  Herr  Konigsmark's  musicians,  recruited  from 
an  Austrian  military  band  which  had  visited  Australia, 
a  murmur  of  admiration  made  itself  audible,  as  the  Prince 
and  his  partner  stepped  forth  in  the  opening  measure  of 
the  dance.  I  turned  my  head  and  was  lost  in  astonishment 
as  I  noticed  the  unconscious  grace  with  which  Miranda 
moved  —  calm  as  when  rivalling  the  fairies  in  rhythmic 
measure  on  a  milk  white  beach  beside  the  moonlit  wave. 
How  many  a  time  had  I  watched  her ! 

"  Who  in  the  world  is  that  lovely  creature  dancing  with 
the  Prince  ?  "  I  heard  a  middle-aged  dame  behind  me  ask. 
"  She  has  a  foreign  appearance,  and  I  think  she  is  the 
most  exquisitely  beautiful  woman  I  ever  saw  in  my  life. 
What  a  figure,  too !  How  she  smiles,  what  teeth,  what 
eyes !  Is  there  any  news  of  a  migration  of  angels  ?  Such 
strange  things  happen  nowadays  on  account  of  electricity 
and  all  that.  Who  and  what  is  she,  Mary  Kingston,  again 
I  ask  von  ?  " 


"  OUR   JACK  'S   COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  325 

"  My  dear  Arabella ! "  answered  the  other  dame,  evidently- 
one  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  land,  "  you  are  so  enthusiastic! 
She  came  with  the  Frankston  party.  That's  her  husband 
quite  close  to  us,  dancing  with  Mrs.  Neuchamp.  He's  the 
son  of  Captain  Telfer  of  North  Shore,  and  lias  been  away 
among  the  islands  and  nobody  knows  where  for  ever  so 
long.  He  married  her  at  Norfolk  Island.  I  believe  she  is 
one  of  those  wonderful  Pitcairn  people  that  we  hear  such 
good  accounts  of." 

"  H'm ;  he's  a  young  man  of  distinctly  good  taste,  I  must 
say.  I  wish  my  Cavendish  had  gone  to  the  islands  too,  if 
that  is  the  sort  of  girl  they  grow  there.  Mrs.  Percival 
seems  to  be  a  great  chum  of  hers.  How  did  that  come 
about  ?  " 

"I  believe  they  came  back  in  the  Florentia  together. 
Captain  Carryall  touched  at  Norfolk  Island  on  the  way 
from  Honolulu,  and  it  seems  that  Mrs.  Percival's  little  boy 
fell  overboard  on  the  voyage,  and  the  girl  was  into  the  sea 
after  him  like  a  shot,  and  swam  with  him  in  her  arms  till 
the  boats  came.  There  was  something  about  a  shark  too. 
Mrs.  Percival  tells  everybody  she  saved  his  life.  No 
wonder  she  raves  about  her." 

"  What  a  pearl  of  a  girl !  No  wonder,  indeed !  And  to 
think  of  her  having  a  world  of  courage  and  fire  in  her  Avith 
all  that  delicacy  and  beauty.  I  can't  take  my  eyes  off  her. 
The  Prince  admires  her,  apparently,  too ;  and  she  smiles 
like  a  pleased  child,  with  as  little  thought  of  vanity  or  harm, 
I  dare  swear,  as  a  baby.  She  ought  to  be  a  princess,  no 
doubt  of  it.  So  I  see  it's  the  last  figure.  I  must  go  and 
look  up  my  old  friend,  Paul  Frankston,  and  make  him  tell 
me  all  about  her." 

After  the  dance  and  the  usual  promenade,  Mrs.  Neuchamp 
and  I  recovered  our  respective  spouses,  and  took  the  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  detour  of  the  ball-room,  and  even  to  go 
through  the  next  apartment,  where  refreshments  were  pro- 


326  A   MODERN  BUCCANEER 

curable,  into  the  ample  gardens.  The  night  was  superbly 
beautiful.  The  full  moon  lit  up  the  grove  of  tropical 
foliage  and  richly -flowering  plants,  the  glades  carpeted  with 
velvet  lawn,  the  wide  sea-plain  traversed  by  shimmering 
pathways  of  silver.  Below,  in  the  sleeping  bay,  lay  several 
men-of-war,  half  in  shadow,  half  illuminated  with  coloured 
lamps  hanging  from  their  rigging.  Gay  and  mirthful,  grave 
or  earnest,  the  frequent  partners  passed  to  and  fro  like 
shadows  of  revellers  beneath  the  moon,  or  turned  to  the 
lower  paths  to  gaze  at  the  motionless  vessels,  the  silver  sea, 
the  whispering  wave.  It  was  an  ecstatic  experience,  a  fairy 
pageant,  a  supernal  revelation  of  an  enchanted  landscape. 

Miranda  pressed  my  arm.  *'  Oh,  Hilary !  how  lovely  all 
this  is  !  But  you  must  not  laugh  at  me.  Now  that  I  have 
seen  it,  I  do  not  think  I  shall  be  anxious  to  follow  it  up. 
There  is  something  almost  intoxicating  about  it  all.  I  can 
imagine  it  unfitting  people  for  their  everyday  life." 

We  had  hardly  returned  to  the  ball-room  when  the  glori- 
ous strains  of  the  "  Tausend  und  einer  nacht "  waltz  pealed 
forth  from  the  band,  and  hurrying  and  anxious  swains  in 
search  of  their  partners,  not  always  easy  to  discover  in  such 
a  crush,  were  seen  in  every  direction.  Instant  request  was 
preferred  to  Miranda  by  a  naval  officer  high  in  command, 
but  to  my  surprise,  as  we  had  not  spoken  on  the  subject, 
she  graciously,  but  firmly,  declined  the  honour.  He  pro- 
tested, but  she  quietly  repeated  her  negative :  "  I  only 
dance  round  dances  with  my  husband,  Captain  Harley !  and, 
indeed,  these  not  very  often." 

He  was  inclined  to  be  persistent,  though  most  courteous. 
"I  am  sure  you  used  to  dance  them  once.  Indeed,  I  heard 
such  an  account  of  your  waltzing,  Mrs.  Telfer." 

"  That  was  before  I  was  married,  Captain  Harley  ! "  she 
replied,  with  such  evident  belief  that  this  explanation  fully 
answered  every  objection  that  neither  the  captain  nor  I 
could  help  smiling. 


"  OUR   JACK  'S    COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  327 

"  Look  at  your  friend,  Mrs.  Neuchamp  !  "  he  said,  as  tliat 
dainty  matron  came  gliding  past  with  a  military  partner, 
looking  like  the  very  impersonation  of  the  waltz,  "and 
Mrs.  Craven,  and  Mrs.  Percival." 

"I  am  so  sorry  that  I  can't  comply,"  she  answered. 
"  They  are  quite  right  to  dance  waltzes  if  they  please.  I 
do  not  care  for  them  now,  and  am  only  going  to  have  one 
with  Hilary  to-night.  He  is  fond  of  it,  I  know.  I  will 
dance  the  Lancers  with  you,  if  you  like." 

"  Anything  with  yoit,"  murmured  the  captain  gallantly, 
as  he  carefully  wrote  her  name  on  his  card,  and  departed 
to  secure  a  partner  for  the  yet  unfinished  portion  of  the 
dance. 

"  I  see  by  this  lovely  programme,"  she  said,  "  that  there 
is  another  waltz,  a  polka,  and  then  the  Lancers,  which  I 
used  to  know  very  well ;  and  after  that  I  will  dance  the 
next  waltz  with  you,  Hilary,  just  to  feel  Avhat  this  wonder- 
ful floor  is  like.  You  are  not  angry  with  me  for  refusing 
Captain  Harley  ?     I  really  feel  as  if  I  could  not  do  it." 

"  You  can  follow  your  own  way,  my  dear ! "  I  said,  ''  in 
this  and  all  minor  matters.  It  concerns  you  chiefly ;  and, 
considering  how  many  husbands  think  their  wives  are 
rather  too  fond  of  dancing,  I  shall  certainly  not  quarrel 
with  mine  for  not  caring  for  it  enough." 

I  was  not  altogether  without  interest  as  to  this  set  of 
Lancers  which  she  had  promised  to  the  gallant  captain  of 
the  Arethusa,  knowing  as  I  did  that  the  fashion  had  changed 
considerably  since  the  Lancers  was  a  decorous,  somewhat 
dull  dance,  differing  from  the  quadrille  only  in  a  more 
complicated  series  of  evolutions,  and,  like  that  very  proper 
performance,  affording  much  opportunity  for  conversation. 
Not  intending  to  take  part  in  it  myself,  and  being,  indeed, 
more  than  sufficiently  entertained  as  a  spectator  of  the 
novel  spectacle,  I  stationed  myself  near  the  "tops,"  one 
couple  of  which  Miranda's  partner  elected  to  be.     I  saw  by 


328  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

the  composition  of  the  set,  and  the  looks  of  some  of  the 
youths  and  maidens  who  eagerly  took  their  places  with 
their  pre-arranged  vis-a-vis,  that  the  pace  would  be  rapid 
and  the  newest  variations  introduced. 

I  provided,  therefore,  for  a  contretemps.  My  younger 
sister  having  professed  herself  tired  with  the  previous 
waltz,  had  declined  the  invitation  of  a  partner  not  Avholly 
acceptable  as  it  appeared  to  me.  I  therefore  persuaded 
her  to  walk  up  with  me  to  a  seat  near  Miranda,  so  that  we, 
as  I  explained,  might  see  how  she  got  on. 

What  I  anticipated  exactly  came  to  pass.  The  first  few 
non-committal  quadrille  steps  were  got  through  without 
unusual  display,  but  when  Miranda  saw  the  damsel  next  to 
her  leaning  back  as  far  as  she  could  manage,  while  her 
partner  swung  her  round  several  times,  as  if  he  either 
wished  to  lift  her  entirely  off  her  feet,  or  drag  her  arms  out 
of  the  sockets,  a  look  of  amazement  overspread  her  features. 
She  stopped  with  a  startled  air,  commingled  with  distaste, 
and  saying  to  her  surprised  partner,  "  I  cannot  dance  like 
this  —  I  did  not  know  —  why  did  no  one  tell  me  ?  "  — 
walked  like  a  queen  to  the  nearest  seat.  Now  my  foresight 
came  in.  Knowing  that  a  girl  of  nineteen  would  be  willing 
to  dance  with  a  naval  officer  of  the  rank  and  fashion  of 
Captain  Harley,  if  she  was  ready  to  drop  with  fatigue,  I 
said  promptly,  "  Allow  me  to  introduce  you  to  my  sister, 
Captain  Harley,  who  will,  I  am  sure,  be  happy  to  take  my 
wife's  place ; "  a  look  of  joyful  acquiescence  lit  up  her  coun- 
tenance, and  before  any  serious  hitch  took  place  in  the 
figure  the  vacancy  was  filled. 

I  fancied  that  my  sister  Elinor,  who  was  at  the  age  when 
girls  are  not  disinclined  for  a  little  daring  frolic  out  of  pure 
gladsomeness,  performed  her  part  in  the  figures  with  some- 
what less  unreserve  after  noticing  the  look  of  quiet  surprise 
with  which  Miranda  observed  some  of  the  more  vivacious 
couples. 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"  329 

We  contented  ourselves,  when  the  next  series  of  waltzes 
commenced,  with  a  single  dance,  which  we  enjoyed  as  thor- 
oughly as  the  perfection  of  floor,  music,  and  surroundings 
warranted. 

"  Oh,  what  a  floor  !  "  said  Miranda ;  "  if  I  were  as  fond 
of  dancing  as  I  used  to  be,  I  could  dance  all  night;  and 
such  music !  Quite  heavenly,  if  it  is  not  wicked  to  say  so. 
And  there  is  the  sea,  too,  with  the  moonlight  on  it  as  in  old 
days  !     We  have  been  taken  to  an  enchanted  castle  ! 

"But  there  is  something  different.  I  can  hardly  de- 
scribe my  feelings.  Why,  I  cannot  explain,  but  going  back 
to  dancing  now  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  it,  when  I  have 
entered  upon  the  serious  duties  of  life,  appears  like  return- 
ing to  one's  childish  passion  for  dolls  and  playthings." 

"  And  yet,  how  many  married  people  of  both  sexes  are 
dancing  now,  not  with  each  other  either." 

"  I  see  them,  and  I  wonder.  I  am  not  surprised  at  mar- 
ried men  dancing  —  if  they  like  it.  If  they  come  at  all, 
they  may  as  well  do  so  as  sit  down  and  get  weary.  But  I 
think  the  married  women  should  leave  the  round  dances  to 
the  girls." 

"  Would  not  balls  be  rather  slow  if  the  married  women 
only  danced  squares  ?  " 

"  I  don't  see  why.  Yet  many  of  the  girls  have  no  part- 
ners —  wall-flowers,  I  think  you  call  them.  And  that  is 
hardly  fair,  surely." 

As  this  dance  only  came  before  supper,  which  was  now 
near  at  hand,  we  danced  it  out.  I  hardly  noticed  until  the 
music  closed  how  many  of  the  other  couples  had  stopped,  or 
that  quite  a  crowd  had  collected  around  us.  This  was  a  trib- 
ute, I  found,  to  Miranda's  performance,  which  had  an  ease 
and  grace  of  movement  such  as  I  never  saw  any  living  woman 
possess.  She  hardly  seemed  to  use  the  ordinary  means  of 
progression.  Hers  was  a  half-aerial  motion,  in  time  to 
every  note  and  movement  of  the  music,  while  the  rhythmic 


330  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

sway  and  yielding  grace  of  her  figure  presented  the  idea  of 
a  mermaiden  floating  through  the  translucent  waves  rather 
than  that  of  a  mortal  woman. 

As  she  swayed  dreamily  to  the  wondrous  music  of  "  Tau- 
send  und  einer  nacht,"  her  head  thrown  slightly  back,  her 
parted  lips,  her  wondrous  eyes,  her  faultless  form  so  im- 
pressed the  by-standers  with  the  ideal  of  supreme  beauty, 
that  they  scarce  repressed  an  audible  murmur  as  the  music 
ceased  and  the  dance  came  to  an  end. 

When  supper  was  announced  there  was  the  usual  crush, 
but  before  the  doors  were  opened  a  few  of  the  more  favoured 
guests,  including  the  Frankstons  and  ourselves,  were  con- 
ducted by  one  of  the  aides-de-camp  to  a  place  near  the  vice- 
regal party.  Miranda  was  taken  possession  of  by  another 
of  our  naval  friends,  who  seemed  to  think  that  they  had 
special  claims  upon  her,  as  having  knowledge  of  her  island 
home.  I  was  requested  to  take  in  our  good  friend  and 
fellow-voyager  Mrs.  Percival,  who  was  more  warm  and  effu- 
sive in  praise  of  Miranda  than  I  ever  thought  possible 
before  her  child's  danger  broke  through  the  crust  of  her 
ordinary  manner.  Now  nothing  could  have  been  more  sis- 
terly and  unreserved  than  her  tone  and  expression. 

"  It  has  been  quite  a  luxury  to  all  of  us  to  look  on  at  that 
wonderful  darling  of  a  wife  of  yours  dancing !  The  whole 
room,  including  Lady  Eochester,  was  in  ecstasies,  I  assure 
you.  You  came  in  for  your  share  of  compliments  also, 
which  I  mustn't  make  you  vain  by  repeating.  How  exqui- 
sitely, how  charmingly  she  does  dance  !  I  have  seen  some  of 
the  best  danseuses  in  Europe  and  India  —  on  and  off  the 
stage  —  and  not  one  worthy  to  be  named  with  her.  She  is 
a  dream  of  grace  —  the  very  poetry  of  motion.  I  said  so 
before  to-night,  and  now  every  one  agrees  with  me.  It  is 
rather  a  disappointment  in  some  quarters  that  she  declines 
to  dance  except  with  you.  It  would  seem  odd  for  some 
people,  but  being  the  woman  she  is  I  understand  it." 


"  OUR   JACK  'S   COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  331 

"  She  is  free  to  follow  her  own  course  socially,"  I  said. 
"  She  will  soon  decide  upon  her  line  of  action,  and  will  not 
be  turned  from  it  by  outside  influence.  Fortunately  she 
and  my  mother  are  much  in  harmony  as  to  leading  princi- 
ples, which  relieves  my  mind  considerably." 

"You  are  fortunate  in  that,  then,  as  in  several  other 
respects ;  may  I  add  that  I  think  you  worthy  of  your  good 
fortune.  I  trust  that  my  boy's  simple  prayers  for  your 
welfare  —  and  he  prays  for  you  both  every  night  —  may  be 
answered." 

Just  before  the  conclusion  of  the  supper  I  saw  that 
Miranda  had  been  presented  to  his  Excellency  the  Gov- 
ernor, who  was  standing  near  the  Prince.  Both  of  these 
personages  were  most  complimentary  and  flattering  in  their 
attention  to  her,  and  when  we  left,  as  we  had  arranged, 
immediately  after  that  most  important  function  supper, 
leaving  the  girls  to  go  home  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Neuchamp, 
we  were  gratified  to  think  that  we  could  not  have  been 
more  graciously  received  —  treated  even  with  distinction  — 
and  that  nothing  had  occurred  to  detract  in  the  slightest 
degree  from  the  unwonted  pleasure  and  modest  triumph 
of  the  night. 


After  this,  our  first  experience  of  "  society,"  in  the  higher 
sense  of  the  word,  unexpectedly  agreeable,  as  it  had  been, 
Miranda's  fixed  resolve,  in  which  I  fully  concurred,  was  to 
detach  ourselves  from  it  and  its  code  of  obligations,  except 
at  rare  intervals  —  to  live  our  own  lives,  and  to  trouble 
ourselves  as  little  as  might  be  with  the  tastes  and  fancies 
of  others. 

I  was  likely  to  have  my  time  fully  occupied  in  the  devel- 
opment of  my  business.  Miranda  had,  partly  from  obser- 
vation, partly  from  information  supplied  by  my  mother 
and  sisters,  discovered  that  there  was  even  in  prosperous. 


332  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

easy  going,  naturally  favoured  Sydney  a  section  of  ill-fed, 

ill-clotlied,  ill-taught  poor.     "While  I  meet  them  daily,  such 

as  I  never  saw  on  our  island,  I  cannot  occupy  myself  with 

the  vanities  of  life."     My  mother  was  delighted  to  find  a 

daughter  willing  to  co-operate  with  her  in  the  benevolent 

plans  of  relief  which  she  was  always  organising  for  the 

poor  and  the  afflicted.     Between  them  a  notable  increase 

of  efficiency  took  place  in  the  management  of  children's 

hospitals,  soup-kitchens,  and  other  institutions,  commonly 

regarded  with  indifference,  if  not  dislike,  by  the  well-to-do 

members  of   society.     Outside  of   these  duties,   our   chief 

pleasure  at  the  end  of  the  week,  when  only  we  could  afford 

the  time,  was  a  cruise  in  our  sailing  boat  the  Harpooiier, 

which  soon  came  to  be  known  as  one  of  the  fastest  in  the 

harbour,  as  well  as  one  that  was  rarely  absent  from  the 

Saturday's  regatta,  when  a  stiff  breeze  was  sending  the  spray 

aloft. 

********* 

Our  life  henceforth  was  that  of  the  happy  nations  "  that 
have  no  history."  My  business  prospered,  and  as  it  largely 
increased  and  developed  from  its  original  proportions. 
Captain  Carryall  began  to  tire  of  his  voyages  and  settled 
down  on  shore. 

Within  a  year  of  the  founding  of  our  commercial  enter- 
prise one  of  the  ideal  houses  we  had  so  often  pictured  came 
into  our  possession.  In  an  afternoon  stroll,  Miranda  and  I 
had  ventured  into  a  deserted  garden,  lured  by  the  masses  of 
crimson  blooms  on  a  great  double  hibiscus.  The  heavy 
entrance-gate  was  awry— the  stone  pillars  decaying  —  the 
avenue  weed-grown  and  neglected  —  the  shrubberies  trodden 
down  and  disfigured  by  browsing  cattle.  Exploring  further 
behind  a  screen  of  thick-growing  pines,  we  found  the  house, 
—  a  noble,  wide-balconied  freestone  building,  which  I  well 
remembered  in  my  boyhood.  Then  it  was  inhabited,  care- 
fully tended,  and  ringing  with  the  voices  of  happy  boys 


"OUR  jack's  come  home  to-day"  333 

and  girls  in  holiday-time.  What  blight  had  fallen  on  the 
place,  or  on  the  pleasant  family  that  once  dwelt  there? 
On  the  north-eastern  side  the  land  sloped  down  to  a  little 
bay,  sheltered  from  the  prevailing  wind,  and  provided  with 
pier  and  boat-house  —  all  marine  conveniences,  in  short. 
"Oh!  if  we  had  a  house  like  this,"  said  Miranda,  clapping 
her  hands,  "  how  happy  we  should  be  !  Not  that  I  am 
otherwise  now  ;  but  I  should  enjoy  having  this  for  our  own. 
We  could  soon  renovate  the  poor  garden."  I  assented,  but 
said  nothing  at  the  time  —  resolved  to  take  counsel  of  our 
good  friend  and  trusted  adviser  then  and  now  —  who  else 
but  Paul  Frankston  ? 

From  him  I  learned  the  history  of  the  house  and  its  old- 
time  inmates.  Some  were  dead  and  some  were  gone.  The 
story  was  long.  The  gist  of  it  was,  however,  that  it  was 
now  in  the  hands  of  certain  trustees  for  the  benefit  of  the 
heirs-at-law.  '*I  think  I  can  find  out  about  it,"  he  con- 
cluded. "  And  now  come  down  and  look  at  my  little  boat. 
I've  had  some  painting  and  gilding  done  lately ;  I  want 
you  all — father,  mother,  sisters,  wife,  and  everybody — to 
come  for  a  sail  next  Saturday.  I'm  going  to  have  a  race 
with  Kichard  Jones  to  the  Heads  and  back,  and  I  want 
your  wife  to  steer.  Then  we'll  win,  I'm  sure,  and  we'll  call 
in  at  Edenhall  —  that's  the  name  of  the  old  place  you  saw 
—  been  its  name  for  fifty  years  or  more  —  and  we'll  have 
another  look  at  it." 

I  said  "  Yes,  by  all  means." 

The  next  Saturdaj^  proved  to  be  a  day  specially  provided 
by  the  gods  for  boat-sailing.  The  wind  was  in  the  right 
quarter,  the  weather  fine.  The  Sea-gull  swept  across  the 
harbour  like  a  veritable  sea-bird,  spreading  her  broad  wings. 
The  whole  party  had  punctually  assembled  at  our  jetty 
after  an  early  lunch.  The  breeze  freshened  as  the  day 
wore  on ;  we  had  our  friendly  race  against  an  old  comrade 
of  Mr.  Frankston's  —  like  him,  not  all  ignorant  of  the  ways 


334  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

of  those  who  go  down  to  the  deep  in  ships  —  which  we  won 
handsomely,  thanks  to  Miranda's  steering,  as  Paul  loudly 
averred.  And  that  young  woman  herself,  as  the  Sea-gull 
went  flying  past  her  sister  yacht  in  the  concluding  tack, 
lying  down  "  gunnel  under,"  with  every  inch  of  canvas  on 
that  she  dared  carry,  was  as  eager  and  excited  as  if  she  had 
been  paddling  for  her  life  in  one  of  the  canoe  races  of  her 
childhood. 

We  got  back  to  Neutral  Bay  in  time  for  afternoon  tea,  a 
little  later  than  the  established  hour.  But  instead  of  having 
it  on  board,  Paul  proposed  to  have  it  at  Edenhall,  where  he 
said  he  had  permission  to  go  whenever  he  pleased.  He  had 
arranged  with  the  caretaker  too. 

We  landed  at  the  long  unused  pier.  "  How  many  times 
have  I  been  here  before,  in  poor  old  Dartmoor's  time,"  said 
Mr.  Frankston,  "and  how  many  a  jolly  night  have  I  spent 
within  those  old  walls  !  Well,  well !  time  goes  on,  and  our 
friends,  where  are  they  ?  Life  's  a  sad  business  at  best. 
However,  we  can't  make  it  better  by  crying  over  our  losses. 
Ladies  and  gentlemen,  follow  me ! " 

With  a  sudden  change  of  tone  and  manner,  Paul  stepped 
briskly  along  the  upward  winding  path,  long  unused,  which 
led  to  the  house.  The  hall  door  stood  open,  and  passing 
along  a  noble  hall  and  turning  to  the  right,  we  entered  a 
dining-room  of  fine  proportions.  In  this  was  an  improvised 
table  on  trestles  whereon  was  spread  a  tempting  collation. 
Two  men  servants,  whom  I  recognised  as  the  Marahmee 
butler  and  footman,  stood  ready  to  serve  the  company.  A 
needful  amount  of  sweeping  and  repair  had  been  effected. 
The  windows  had  been  cleaned,  and  a  fine  view  of  the  bay 
thereby  afforded.  Altogether  the  effect  was  as  striking  as 
it  was  unexpected ;  a  general  exclamation  broke  from  the 
company. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  Paul,  "  I  have  prepared  a 
surprise  for  you,  I  know ;  but  oblige  me  by  making  your- 


"OUR  jack's  come  hoxMe  to-day"  335 

selves  at  home  for  the  present,  and  dining  with  nie  in  this 
informal  fashion  —  I  will  explain  by  and  by." 

The  day  was  nearly  spent.  It  would  probably  be  near 
the  time  of  twilight,  which  in  summer  in  Australia  is  nearer 
nine  o'clock  than  eight,  before  we  reached  our  homes.  So 
the  majority  of  the  guests  hailed  the  idea  as  one  of  Paul's 
eccentric  notions  with  which  he  was  wont  to  amuse  his 
intimates.  The  Marahmee  champagne  was  proverbial,  and 
after  a  reasonable  number  of  corks  had  been  drawn  a  pro- 
gressive degree  of  cheerfulness  was  reached.  Paul  rose  to 
his  feet,  and  requested  the  usual  solemnities  to  be  observed, 
as  he  was  about  to  propose  a  toast.  "  Those  of  my  friends 
who  have  been  here  before,  in  its  happier  times,  will 
remember  the  former  owner  of  this  once  pleasant  home. 
Little  is  left  now  save  the  evidences  of  decay  and  desertion 
—  the  memories  of  a  long  past  happy  day.  But  there  is  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  be  again  inhabited,  again  be  filled 
with  pleasant  and  pleasure-giving  inhabitants.  It  is  solid 
and  substantial;  if  somewhat  old-fashioned,  all  the  better 
I  say.  There  was  no  jerry  building  in  the  old  days.  The 
garden  is  here  —  to  be  easily  renewed  in  beauty  —  the  jetty, 
and  the  boat-house.  The  sea  is  here,  much  as  I  remember 
when  as  a  boy  I  used  to  get  '  congewoi '  for  bait  off  those 
very  rocks." 

"  Hear,  hear ! "  from  the  guests,  and  Mr.  Richard  Jones. 

"  And  now  I  come  to  a  piece  of  news  which  I  am  sure 
you  will  hear  with  pleasure.  The  house  and  grounds  have 
been  purchased  by  a  young  friend  of  mine,  whose  health, 
with  that  of  his  charming  wife,  I  now  ask  you  to  drink  with 
all  the  honours.  The  health  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Telfer,  their 
long  life  and  prosperity !  and  may  we  all  have  many  as 
pleasant  a  sail  round  the  harbour  as  we  have  had  to-day, 
and  come  here  to  enjoy  ourselves  at  the  end  of  it." 

The  applause  which  followed  was  tumultuous.  Paul  has 
sprung  a  surprise  upon  his  guests  with  a  vengeance.     I  was 


330  A   MODERN   BUCCANEER 

as  much  astonished  as  anybody ;  for  though  I  knew  that  he 
had  promised  to  make  inquiries  about  the  price  put  upon 
the  property,  I  had  no  idea  that  he  Avould  go  further  in  the 
matter,  still  less  that  he  Avould  purchase  it  on  my  account, 
as  it  was  evident  that  he  had  done. 

I  said  a  few  words,  chiefly  to  the  effect  that  it  seemed  to 
me  quite  unnecessary  to  go  through  the  form  of  exerting 
myself  for  my  advancement  in  life,  as  my  friends,  Mr. 
Frankston  and  Captain  Carryall,  were  bent  on  making  my 
fortune  for  me.  I  trusted  to  prove  not  wholly  unworthy 
of  such  unselfish  friendship,  and  thanking  them  all  in  the 
name  of  my  wife  and  myself,  trusted  that  a  meeting  like 
this  would  often  conclude  a  happy  day  such  as  we  had  just 
completed.  As  for  Miranda,  she  went  up  to  the  old  man, 
and  placing  her  hand  in  his,  looked  up  into  his  face  with  an 
expression  of  heartfelt  gratitude,  which  hardly  needed  the 
addition  of  her  Avords :  "You  have  made  us  both  perfectly 
happy  —  what  can  I  say  ?  My  heart  will  not  let  me  speak. 
We  have  nothing  to  wish  for  now  in  this  world." 

The  old  man  looked  at  her  with  an  expression  of  mingled 
admiration  and  paternal  affection.  "  I  have  two  daughters 
now,"  he  said,  ''  and  two  sons ;  I  was  always  wishing  to 
have  another  pair,  to  gossip  with  when  Antonia  and  Ernest 
were  away.  Now  I  have  found  them  I  am  sure.  The  only 
thing  we  want  now  is  another  boat." 

Miranda's  eyes  glistened  at  the  allusion,  and  she  looked 
as  if  she  was  only  prevented,  by  a  half-instinctive  doubt  as 
to  the  fitness  of  the  occasion,  from  embracing  Paul  before 
the  assembled  company. 

#^  ^  .At-  -U-  -if-  .U-  -it*  -It- 

•Tt"  TV"  "Tt"  "A"  "A"  Ti  "TV"  -tT" 

Years  have  passed  since  that  day.  Children's  voices 
have  long  since  echoed  in  the  wide  verandahs  and  amid  the 
shrubberies  of  Edenhall.  The  house,  thoroughly  renovated, 
is  one  of  the  most  comfortable,  if  not  the  most  aristocratic. 


"  OUR   JACK  'S   COME   HOME   TO-DAY  "  337 

of  the  many  embowered  mansions  which  look  over  the  Haven 
Beauteous. 

My  boys  have  been  "  water  babies  "  from  earliest  child- 
hood, and  we  can  turn  out  a  crew  not  easy  to  beat,  particu- 
larly when  their  mother  can  be  persuaded  to  steer.  My 
girls  have  inherited  a  large  proportion  of  their  mother's 
fearless  spirit,  though  people  say  not  one  has  equalled  her 
in  beauty.  Their  partners  in  the  dance,  however,  appear  to 
consider  them  sufficiently  good-looking,  if  one  may  judge 
by  the  competition  which  their  appearance  at  balls  usually 
produces. 

Our  business,  always  aided  by  the  cool  heads  and  steady 
courage  of  the  senior  partners,  has  increased,  with  the 
growth  of  the  city  of  Sydney  and  the  development  of  the 
island  trade,  beyond  all  hope  and  expectation.  I  am  a  rich 
man  now,  and,  indeed,  somewhat  in  danger  of  the  occasional 
mood  of  discontent  with  the  uneventful,  unvarying  tide  of 
success  upon  which  life's  barque  appears  ever  to  float.  But 
one  look  at  Miranda's  face,  serenely  happy  in  her  children, 
in  her  daily  life  of  charity  and  almsgiving,  in  the  devoted 
love  and  trust  of  my  parents,  is  all-sufficient  to  banish  all 
vagrant  ideas. 

Sometimes,  in  the  train  of  unbidden  fancies  which  throng 
the  portals  of  the  mind,  the  scenes  and  sounds  of  a  far 
clime  claim  right  of  audience.  Again  I  see  the  paradisal 
woodland,  the  mysterious  mountain  forest,  the  ceaseless 
moan  of  the  billow  upon  the  reef  sounds  in  my  ear ;  while 
forms,  now  fair,  now  fierce,  flit,  shadow-like,  across  the  scene. 
I  hear  again  the  soft  voices  of  the  island  girls  as  in  frolic 
race  they  troop  to  beach  or  stream.  I  see  the  sad,  bright 
eyes  of  Lalia,  or  mark  the  fierce  regard  of  Hope  Island 
Nellie  as  she  stands  with  bared  bosom  full  in  the  track  of 
the  deadly  arrow  flight.  I  hear  the  lion  roar  of  Hayston 
as  he  quells  a  mutiny,  or  towers,  alone  and  unarmed,  above 
a  crowd  of  hostile  islanders.     I  shudder  in  thought  at  the 


338  A  MODERN   BUCCANEER 

dangers  which  I  have  escaped.  Once  more  sounds  from 
afar  the  weird  voice  of  the  tempest  in  the  midnight  wreck 
of  the  Leonora.  Lastly,  the  harbour  lights  disappear  as  I 
sit  in  my  cane  lounge  in  the  verandah  of  Edenhall,  and  in 
place  of  the  wooded  heights  and  distant  city  I  see  the 
breakers  upon  the  reef  of  Ocean  Island,  and  discern  a  soli- 
tary figure  in  the  stern  of  a  small  boat  sailing  out  into  the 
illimitable  gloom;  I  fall  a  musing  upon  the  mysterious 
problems  of  Fate  —  of  man's  life  and  the  strange  proces- 
sion of  circumstance — until  the  hour  strikes  and  1  retire. 
Yet  my  thoughts  are  still  dominated  by  the  majestic 
figure  of  the  Captain,  grand  in  his  natural  good  qualities, 
grand  in  his  fearless  courage,  his  generosity,  his  friendship 
—  grand  even  in  his  vices.  He  was  not  without  resem- 
blance to  a  yet  more  famous  corsair,  immortalised  by  the 
poet  — 

Who  died  and  left  a  name  to  other  times, 
Link'd  with  one  virtue  and  a  thousand  crimes. 


THE    END 


WORKS    BY    ROLF    BOLDREWOOD. 


NEVERMORE. 

12mu.     Cloth,  81.25. 

ROBBERY    UNDER    ARMS. 

New  Edition.     12mo.     Cloth,  81.25. 

We  have  nothing^  but  praise  for  this  story.  Of  adventure  of  the  most 
stirring  kind  there  is,  as  we  have  said,  abundance.  But  there  is  more  than 
this.  The  characters  are  drawn  with  great  skill.  Every  one  of  the  gang  of 
bushrangers  is  strongly  individualized.  We  have  not  the  mere  catalogue 
of  fortis  Gyas  fortisque  Cloanthtis,  but  genuine  men.  The  father,  a  sturdy 
Englishman,  whose  whole  nature  is  warped  by  early  influences;  the  hero, 
poor  "  Jim,"  his  brother,  a  simple,  lovable  lellow  who  might  have  gone  straight 
under  happier  circumstances  ;  Starlight,  a  gentleman  by  birth  and  education, 
who  has  a  strange  story  behind  him  in  the  Old  Country  ;  and,  lastly,  the  half- 
breed  Warrigal, — are  all  admirable  figures.  This  is  a  book  of  no  common 
literary  force. — Spectator. 

THE    MINER'S    RIGHT. 

A    TALE  OF    THE  AUSTRALIAN  GOLD-FIELDS. 

13mo.     Cloth,    $1.25. 

Full  of  good  passages,  passages  abounding  in  vivacity,  in  the  color  and 
play  of  life.  .  .  .  The  pith  of  the  book  lies  in  its  singularly  fresh  and  vivid 
pictures  of  the  humors  of  the  gold-fields  ;  tragic  humors  enough  they  are  too, 
here  and  again.  .  .  .  The  various  types  of  humanity  that  strut,  or  in  those 
days  used  to  strut,  across  that  strangest  of  the  world's  stage,  an  Australian 
gold-field,  are  capitally  touched  in,  for  Mr.  Boldrewood  can  draw  a  man  as 
well  as  tell  a  story. —  World. 

THE    SQUATTER'S    DREAM. 

l2mo.     Cloth,    SI. 25. 

A  story  of  Australian  life,  told  with  directness  and  force.  The  autho.'  s 
mastery  of  his  subjects  adds  much  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  story,  which 
no  doubt  might  be  told  as  literally  true  of  hundreds  of  restless  and  ambitious 
young  Australians. — N.  Y.  Tribune. 

A    COLONIAL    REFORMER. 

12ino.     Cloth,   SI. 25. 

"  Rolf  Boldrewood  "  has  written  much  and  well  on  the  Australian  colonies, 
but  chiefly  in  the  form  of  novels,  and  good  novels  they  are  too.  The  Austra- 
lian scenes,  rural  and  urban,  are  vividly  described  by  Mr.  Boldrewood,  and 
there  are  among  the  characters  examples  of  the  various  adventurers  and 
rogues  that  infest  new  countries,  which  recall  our  early  California  days. 
Whoever  wants  to  know  how  they  live  in  Australia  will  have  the  want  sup- 
plied.— Philadelphia  Evening  Bulletin. 

One  of  the  mqft  interesting  books  about  Australia  we  have  ever  read. — 
Glasgow  Herald. 

Mr.  Boldrewood  can  tell  what  he  knows  with  great  point  and  vigor,  and 
there  is  no  better  reading  than  the  adventurous  parts  of  his  books. — Saturday 
Review. 


MACMILLAN   &   CO., 

66   FIFTH   AVENUE.  NEW   YORK. 


NOPV  READY. 


A  New  Novel  by  the  Author  of  "  The  Stickit  Minister." 

THE   RAIDERS. 

Being  Some  Passages  in  the  Life  of  John  Paa,  Lord  and  Earl  of 

Little  Egypt, 

By  S.  R.  CROCKETT, 

Aiithor  of  "  The  Stickit  Alinistcr  and  So//ie  Common  Men." 
l2mo,  cloth  extra.     $1.50. 


FROM  THE  'FOREWORD.' 

'*  .  .  .  The  things  that  befell  us  in  those  strange  years 
when  the  hill  outlaws  collogued  with  the  wild  freetraders  of  the 
Holland  traffic,  and  fell  upon  us  to  the  destruction  of  the  life 
of  man,  the  carrying  away  of  much  bestial,  besides  the  putting 
of  many  of  His  Majesty's  lieges  in  fear.    .    .     . 

"  It  was  with  May  Mischief  that  all  the  terrible  blast  of 
storm  began  (as  indeed  most  storms  among  men  ever  do  begin 
with  a  bonny  lass,  like  that  concerning  Helen  of  Troy,  which 
lasted  ■  ten  year  and  of  which  men  speak  to  this  day).  The 
tale  began  with  May  Mischief,  as  you  shall  hear.  I  keep  the 
old  name  still,  though  the  years  have  gone  by,  and  though 
now  in  any  talks  of  the  old  days,  and  of  all  our  ancient  ploys, 
there  are  the  bairns  to  be  considered.  But  it  is  necessary  that 
ere  the  memory  quite  die  out,  some  of  us  w.ho  saw  these  things 
should  write  them  down." 


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